Impact of Jordanian Pharmacists’ Knowledge of the Human Microbiome: Has the Practice of Antibiotics and Probiotics Dispensing Been Affected? A Cross-Sectional Study

Hana M Sawan,1 Wejdan Shroukh,2 Rana Abutaima,3 Shatha M Al Omari,1 Derar H Abdel-Qader,4 Reem Binsuwaidan5 1Pharmaceutical Sciences Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Zarqa University, Zqrqa, Jordan; 2Faculty of Pharmacy, Middle East University, Amman, Jordan; 3Faculty of Pharmacy, Zarqa Private University, Zarqa, Jordan; 4Faculty of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, University of Petra, Amman, Jordan; 5Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaCorrespondence: Hana M Sawan, Email [email protected]: This study aimed to assess Jordanian pharmacists’ knowledge of the human microbiome and the impact of their knowledge on their attitudes and practices toward antibiotics and probiotics.Methods: A self-administered survey was designed after reviewing the literature. Participants’ demographics were collected, and questions to evaluate pharmacists’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward antibiotic and probiotic dispensing were asked. The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences V.26. Pearson correlations and one-way ANOVA were employed to calculate the significance of knowledge, attitudes, and practices. Statistical significance was considered at p < 0.05.Results: Of the 333 respondents, around 75% (n=250) had a high level of general knowledge regarding the human gut microbiome. Almost equal proportions of participants had either intermediate or high levels of knowledge about the role of gut bacteria in health (n=164, 49.2%) (n=166, 49.8%), respectively, while almost two-thirds had an intermediate level of knowledge of the role of gut bacteria in disease (n=197, 59.2%). More than half of the participants had a positive attitude toward antibiotics, probiotics, and the human microbiome (n=179, 53.8%), and the majority (n=239, 71.8%) had an intermediate level of practice with them. There was a significant positive correlation between pharmacists’ general knowledge of the human microbiome and their positive attitudes (r=0.306, p < 0.01) and practices (r=0.331, p < 0.01) toward antibiotics and probiotics.Conclusion: Study results raise the importance of interventional educational measures to promote healthcare professionals’ knowledge of the human microbiome and their potential beneficence on pharmacists’ attitudes and practices regarding antibiotics and probiotics dispensing. The results also denote the urgent need for probiotics’ clinical guidelines to ensure practice uniformity.Keywords: human microbiome, antibiotics, probiotics