ABSTRACT
Background: The irrational use of antibiotics significantly contributes to antimicrobial resistance Among pharmacy students, who are future healthcare providers, understanding antibiotic use is crucial in mitigating these risks. Aim: This study assesses their knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding antibiotic use. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a structured questionnaire which was divided into four sections(A,B,C,D) with a total of 30 questions. Section A contains the social demographics of the participants which includes Age, Sex, Academic level, Faculty and Average monthly income. Section B contains questions that assessed students’ knowledge about irrational use of antibiotics and the response choice for knowledge was “yes”, “no” and “I don’t know”. Section C contains questions that assessed students’ attitude towards irrational use of antibiotics and the response choice was a five-point Likert scale. Strongly agree was scored as 5, agree as 4, neutral as 3, disagree as 2 while strongly disagree as 1. Section D contains questions that assessed the practice of irrational antibiotics use among students. Questions were asked about the type of antibiotics used and the type of condition treated and the reasons for their choice of drugs. A total of 317 questionnaires were distributed, with 306 properly completed.Data collected was entered into Microsoft Excel Window 10, double-checked and thereafter loaded to Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 27 for analysis. Analyses were mainly descriptive and inferential, and results were presented as frequency and percentage using tables and charts. Results: Most students demonstrated good knowledge (53.6%) of irrational antibiotic use, yet some exhibited moderate (44.1%) while few demonstrate poor knowledge (2.3%).. Many recognized the importance of prescription adherence and professional guidance, but misconceptions persisted, such as the reuse of leftover antibiotics and dose skipping. The study found a high prevalence of self-medication, with commonly misused antibiotics were Amoxicillin (81.7%), followed by Ciprofloxacin (66.3%), Metronidazole (55.6%), and Ampicillin-Cloxacillin (51.0%) respectively. The least used antibiotics was ceftriaxone (14.7%) .There was a statistical significant association between gender (p = 0.036) and academic level (p = 0.045) of the respondents with knowledge of irrational use of antibiotics. Conclusion: While pharmacy students generally possess good knowledge of antibiotic use, irrational practices remain prevalent. Misconceptions and self-medication highlight the need for targeted educational interventions. The study recommends integrating antimicrobial resistance education into the pharmacy curriculum, organizing mandatory antibiotic stewardship workshops, and implementing peer-led awareness programs to promote rational antibiotic use. Key words: Antibiotics, knowledge, practice, attitude, irrational, University of Benin
