Consciousness of healthcare professionals on antimicrobial resistance in western Ethiopia

Abstract Background: Inappropriate and overuse of antimicrobial drugs by healthcare professionals are a global concern. Exploring healthcare professionals’ consciousness on antimicrobial resistance is important to advance the approaches to improve antibiotic use. Hence, the aim of the current study was to assess the level of healthcare professionals’ consciousness towards antimicrobial resistance and its control measures. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was employed. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire to all healthcare professionals from May to June, 2017. Data were entered into Epi info version 7 and analyzed using SPSS version 21. The knowledge and belief scores were summarized using descriptive statistics. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to test the association, which was considered statistically significant if P-value < 0.05.Results : From 269 healthcare professionals participated in the study, 58% were males with a mean age of 31.9 + 7.5 years and 76.6% were degree holders. Most of them were nurses (36.4%) and physicians (24.9%). The median knowledge and belief scores of healthcare professionals on antimicrobial resistance were 35 (range 23-83) and 29 (range 13-47), respectively. Forty seven percent of participants had poor belief score. A correlation test between knowledge and belief scores revealed a significant positive correlation (r = 0.551; P = 0.01). Hospital setting (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 4.65; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.39-9.06; P < 0.001; and AOR: 3.62; 95% CI: 1.76-7.44; P < 0.001) and training (AOR: 0.43; 95% CI: 0.23-0.83; P < 0.05; and AOR: 0.13; 95% CI: 0.06-0.25; P < 0.001) had significantly associated with good knowledge and belief scores, respectively.Conclusions : More than half of healthcare professionals had good knowledge and belief scores on antimicrobial resistance. Prior training experience, type and setting of health institutions were significantly associated with both knowledge and belief scores. Hence, regular comprehensive educational training on antimicrobial resistance is recommended for healthcare professionals working on healthcare institutions.