Knowledge, attitude, and practice of antibiotic use among students at Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, 2021

Abstract

A cross-sectional study by structured questionnaire was conducted of 429 students from the Vietnam National University - Ho Chi Minh City. Descriptive analysis was used to describe variables and logistic regression was used to find out the relationship between students' knowledge and attitude with regards to antibiotic usage. The results showed that knowledge and attitudes having an average score of 5.3/9 and 6.5/9, or an average proportion of 59.4% and 71.7%, respectively. There were 71% of students who answered correctly from 4 to 7 questions regarding knowledge and the proportion of students who answered correctly from 4 to 9 questions regarding attitude were 93.2%. The number of students who incorrectly answered the question "Regular antibiotic use will reduce the occurrence of infection" had a higher risk of inappropriate antibiotic use (OR = 3.23; 1.43 - 7.28) and answered the correct question "Antibiotic resistance is a condition in which the body produces substances that oppose the effects of antibiotics" with less risk of inappropriate antibiotic use (OR = 0.22; 0.07 - 0.68). The possibility of using the appropriate antibiotic increased with the number of the correct answers in regards to attitude questions OR = 1.27 (1.00 – 1.61). The study shows the need for education on antibiotic use in universities as well as stricter governmental regulation concerning antibiotic use and sale in retail pharmacies.