Assessment of Community Pharmacists’ Awareness of Antibiotic Resistance and Practice of Antibiotic Use for Urinary Tract Infections in North Cyprus
Year: 2024
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: BACKGROUND/AIMS: Uncontrolled antibiotic use significantly contributes to antimicrobial resistance, thereby impacting public health and healthcare costs.Given the rise in antimicrobial resistance, community pharmacists should adhere to regulations on antibiotic dispensing.Community pharmacists should actively educate patients about appropriate antibiotic use.This study aimed to assess the awareness of community pharmacists regarding antibiotic resistance and to investigate their practices in dispensing antibiotics for urinary tract infections (UTIs) in North Cyprus. MATERIALS AND METHODS:This cross-sectional study was conducted over a 3-month period.The proposed sample size was 184 community pharmacies, calculated using Raosoft® software.RESULTS: Two hundred and seven out of 350 community pharmacists agreed to participate in this study.188 (90.8%) had good awareness about antibiotic resistance, while 19 (9.17%) had poor awareness.Furthermore, 65.7% of community pharmacists agreed that antibiotic resistance is a public health issue.There was a statistically significant association between gender and awareness (p=0.006), as well as between age and awareness (p=0.02).Additionally, a statistically significant association was found between education status and awareness (p<0.001), as well as between experience and awareness (p<0.001).CONCLUSION: This study showed that community pharmacists dispense antibiotics without prescription because they are confident in their knowledge of antibiotic use for treating UTIs.We suggest that educational programs to promote reasonable antibiotic use should be organized by the Ministry of Health of North Cyprus and the Cyprus Turkish Pharmacists Association.
Authors: Basma Omar, Nevzat Birand, Meryem Deniz Aydın
Institutions: Near East University, Cyprus International University
Language: English
Subfield: Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology
Field: Immunology and Microbiology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4405915689