Community pharmacists' knowledge and practices towards antimicrobial stewardship: findings and implications

Webrod Mufwambi; Kunda Musuku; Jimmy Hangoma; Ngoni Veddie Muzondo; Larry Mweetwa; Steward Mudenda

doi:10.1093/jacamr/dlae176

Community pharmacists' knowledge and practices towards antimicrobial stewardship: findings and implications

JAC Antimicrob Resist. 2024 Oct 29;6(5):dlae176. doi: 10.1093/jacamr/dlae176. eCollection 2024 Oct.

Authors

Webrod Mufwambi¹, Kunda Musuku¹, Jimmy Hangoma², Ngoni Veddie Muzondo³, Larry Mweetwa⁴, Steward Mudenda¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pharmacy, School of Health Sciences, University of Zambia, P.O. Box 50110, Lusaka, Zambia.
² Department of Pharmacy, School of Health Sciences, Levy Mwanawasa Medical University, Lusaka, Zambia.
³ Department of Pharmacy, Harare Institute of Technology, Ganges Road, P. O. Box BE 277, Belvedere, Harare, Zimbabwe.
⁴ Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Technology and Science, Maxwell House, Los Angeles Boulevard, P. O. Box 50464, Lusaka, Zambia.

Abstract

Background: Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programmes have been implemented around the world to optimally manage antimicrobial use to attenuate antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This study assessed the knowledge and practices of community pharmacists towards AMS strategies in the Lusaka District, Zambia.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 194 community pharmacists in the Lusaka district using a structured questionnaire from August 2022 to September 2022. Data analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 22.0.

Results: Of the 194 participants, 86% of the community pharmacists had good knowledge of AMS. The present study found that 83.5% were aware of AMS strategies used in community pharmacy practice. Further, 83.5% of the CPs were familiar with the goals of AMS and 89.2% believed that AMS was necessary for their pharmacy practice. Furthermore, 66.7% of the participants exhibited good practice towards the AMS strategies. Finally, 61.3% frequently avoided the use of broad-spectrum antimicrobials that were not necessary.

Conclusions: According to the findings of this study, the majority of community pharmacists had good knowledge of the AMS strategies that were employed to combat AMR; nonetheless, some of them had poor practices. Therefore, there is a need for community pharmacists to have access to sufficient ongoing professional development programmes and educational activities through AMS programmes to address AMR.