Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36945072›Full record

ArticleJournal of pharmaceutical policy and practice2023

Awareness, practices and perceptions of community pharmacists towards antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial stewardship in Libya: a cross-sectional study.

Hiba A Al-Shami, Usman Abubakar, Maryam S E Hussein, Hanin F A Hussin, Sondos A Al-Shami

Open access · goldFull text read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
11citing papers in PubMed
3.3field-weighted citation impact, top 6% 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

11 citing papers in PubMed, 18 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
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  3. Bridging knowledge and practice: Antimicrobial Stewardship by community pharmacists in New Zealand.Antimicrobial stewardship & healthcare epidemiology : ASHE · 2026
    Article
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  5. Article
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  8. Community pharmacists as antimicrobial resistance stewards: a narrative review on their contributions and challenges in low- and middle-income countries.Journal of pharmacy & pharmaceutical sciences : a publication of the Canadian Society for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Societe canadienne des sciences pharmaceutiques · 2024
    Review
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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

5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Hiba A Al-ShamiAnaesthesia and Emergency Medicine Department, College of Medical Technology, Benghazi, 141, Benghazi, Libya.
Usman AbubakarDepartment of Clinical Pharmacy and Practice, College of Pharmacy, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar. pharmumma2@gmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7549-2877
Maryam S E HusseinAnaesthesia and Emergency Medicine Department, College of Medical Technology, Benghazi, 141, Benghazi, Libya.
Hanin F A HussinDepartment of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Benghazi, 141, Benghazi, Libya.
Sondos A Al-ShamiFaculty of Pharmacy, Libyan International Medical University, 141, Benghazi, Libya.
University of Benghazi · LYQatar University · QA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCommunity pharmacists play a vital role in promoting appropriate use of antibiotics in the community. This study evaluated the practices and perceptions of community pharmacists towards antibiotic use, antibiotic resistance, and antimicrobial stewardship in Libya.

methodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among community pharmacists in Libya using a 47-item validated, pre-tested online questionnaire. Data was collected from December 2021 to February 2022 and was analysed using descriptive and inferential analyses.

resultsOf the 114 questionnaires included in the analysis, 54.4% were females, 78.1% had < 10 year working experience (78.1%), and 81.6% had a Bachelor of Pharmacy. Most (78.1%) strongly agreed/agreed that community pharmacists have an important role to play to reduce antibiotic resistance. Overall, the participants had a moderate perception towards antimicrobial resistance (median score: 21.5; IQR [16-28] out of 35.0). More than 40% supply antibiotics when patients requested them specifically, because if they do not supply them, patients will just go to another pharmacy. About 47% strongly agreed/agreed that if a patient cannot afford a full course of antibiotics all in one go, they will give them a smaller amount that they are able to afford at that time, even when a longer duration of treatment is required. Most (66.7%) had no previous involvement in antibiotics awareness campaign due to 'I have never heard about the campaign' (48.7%) and 'I do not have enough time to participate' (22.4%). Overall, the perception towards antimicrobial stewardship was good (20 [13-25] out of 25.0). Raising awareness of rational antibiotic use, including antimicrobial resistance, among pharmacy students (83.4%) and patient education by pharmacists in community pharmacies at the time medicines are supplied to patients (81.6%) were the most common strategies to improve rational use of antibiotics in community pharmacy.

conclusionsCommunity pharmacists in Libya recognise their role in reducing antimicrobial resistance. They had a moderate perception towards antimicrobial resistance and a good perception towards antimicrobial stewardship. However, inappropriate antibiotic practices were common. The most common strategies to improve rational use of antibiotics in community pharmacy were raising awareness about the rational antibiotic use among pharmacy students and patient education by community pharmacists at the time antibiotics are dispensed to patients. Regulations are needed to restrict dispensing antibiotics without prescription among community pharmacists.

Indexed as

Antimicrobial resistanceAntimicrobial stewardshipCommunity pharmacistsLibyaPerceptionsPractices

Identifiers

PMID36945072
PMCPMC10028782
OpenAlexW4353015881

What OpenQuestion holds

Textfull text, public
LicenceCC BY
measurements read36
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.