Knowledge Attitude and Practice Regarding Antibiotic Abuse Among Students at Pamo University of Medical Sciences in Rivers State, Nigeria

Background: Antibiotic abuse is a global burden, which has led to a plethora of difficulties; including increased emergence of acquired multi drug resistance hence this study which assessed the knowledge, attitude, practices and prevalence of antibiotics abuse among medical students at Pamo University, Oyigbo, Port Harcourt. Materials and methods: The study was conducted in Oyigbo, Rivers State. A cross-sectional study design was adopted; multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 413 eligible participants for this study. Data was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire and analyzed using IBM Statistical Package for Service Solutions version 27.0. Results: The mean age of participants were 18±1.9 years, and mainly from the department of medicine and surgery 331(80.1%). Three hundred and thirty-Six (81.4%) of participants had good knowledge of antibiotic abuse, 273(66.1%) of participants had a good attitude towards antibiotic abuse. However, 279 (67.6%) participants had poor practices regarding antibiotic abuse. Findings from this study showed a very high prevalence of antibiotic abuse recorded as 400 (96.5%). Participant’s department was associated with level of knowledge on antibiotic abuse (χ² = 3.844; p ≤ 0.050) and Age was associated with the attitude towards antibiotic abuse (ꭓ2 =6.581; p≤ 0.037). Conclusion: More than half of the participants had a good knowledge and attitude regarding antibiotic abuse, but most exhibited poor antibiotic use practices. To prevent the grave consequences of antibiotic abuse, we encourage health promotion activities to adopt good antimicrobial stewardship practices, including promoting the completion of full antibiotic courses as prescribed.