Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29739360›Full record

ArticleBMC infectious diseases2018

Investigating knowledge regarding antibiotics and antimicrobial resistance among pharmacy students in Sri Lankan universities.

M H F Sakeena, Alexandra A Bennett, Shazia Jamshed, Fahim Mohamed, Dilanthi R Herath, Indika Gawarammana, Andrew J McLachlan

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC infectious diseases, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
38citing papers in PubMed
4.8field-weighted citation impact, top 5% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

38 citing papers in PubMed, 70 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
  2. Trial
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.

M H F SakeenaDepartment of Pharmacy, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. h.sakeena@gmail.com.ORCID 0000-0001-9854-1451
Alexandra A BennettNSW Therapeutic Advisory Group, Darlinghurst, NSW, Australia.
Shazia JamshedDepartment of Pharmacy Practice, Kulliyyah of Pharmacy, International Islamic University Malaysia, Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia.
Fahim MohamedDepartment of Pharmacy, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.
Dilanthi R HerathDepartment of Pharmacy, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.
Indika GawarammanaDepartment of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.
Andrew J McLachlanSydney Pharmacy School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
University of Peradeniya · LKInternational Islamic University Malaysia · MYThe University of Sydney · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAntimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major challenge for global health care. Pharmacists play a key role in the health care setting to help support the quality use of medicines. The education, training, and experiences of pharmacy students have the potential to impact on patterns of antibiotic use in community and hospital settings. The aim of this study was to investigate antibiotic use, knowledge of antibiotics and AMR among undergraduate pharmacy students at Sri Lankan universities and to compare this between junior and senior pharmacy student groups.

methodsA cross-sectional study was conducted at the six universities in Sri Lanka that offer pharmacy undergraduate programmes. All pharmacy students in each university were invited to participate in this study using a self-administered questionnaire with ethics approval. The study instrument comprised five major sections: demographic information, self-reported antibiotic use, knowledge of antibiotic uses in human health, knowledge of AMR and antibiotic use in agriculture. Descriptive data analyses were conducted and Chi-squared analysis was used to explore associations between different variables and level of pharmacy education.

resultsFour hundred sixty-six pharmacy students completed the questionnaire. A majority of participants (76%) reported antibiotic use in the past year. More than half (57%) of the junior pharmacy students incorrectly indicated that antibiotic use is appropriate for the management of cold and flu conditions. Senior pharmacy students (n = 206) reported significantly better antibiotic knowledge than junior students (n = 260), p < 0.05. Overall pharmacy students showed good understanding of AMR and their knowledge level increased as the year of pharmacy study increased.

conclusionsThis study found that pharmacy students commonly report using antibiotics. Junior students report some misconceptions about antimicrobials. A comparison between junior and senior pharmacy students suggests that pharmacy education is associated with improved understanding of appropriate antibiotic use and AMR among undergraduate pharmacy students in Sri Lanka.

Indexed as

Drug Resistance, MicrobialHealth Knowledge, Attitudes, PracticeStudents, PharmacyAdultAgricultureAnti-Infective AgentsCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedSri LankaSurveys and QuestionnairesUniversitiesVeterinary DrugsAnti-Infective AgentsVeterinary DrugsAntibioticsAntimicrobial resistanceDeveloping countriesKnowledgePharmacy educationSouth AsiaSri Lanka

Identifiers

PMID29739360
PMCPMC5941408
OpenAlexW2806944607

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.