Impact of Hospital Acquired Infection and Antibiotic Resistance Awareness Campaign on Knowledge Attitude and Practices of Medical Undergraduates in a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital, India

Abstract

Introduction: Healthcare professionals have an important role in tackling the growing menace of Hospital Acquired Infections (HAI) and Antibiotic Resistance (ABR). Regular trainings imparted early in career can result in better understanding of these crucial issues. Aim: To identify the baseline Knowledge Attitude and Practices (KAP) of 5th semester MBBS undergraduate students of a University Medical College in Rajasthan, India, and to determine the changes in these parameters after the implementation of a vigorous “HAI and ABR Awareness campaign”. Materials and Methods: This prospective interventional study involved 86, 5th semester MBBS undergraduate students. The study instrument was a preformed pretested 30 item selfadministered questionnaire. The study intervention included a series of lectures, role plays, poster competition; and an audiovisual quiz. The performance of individual participants before and after the intervention was then statistically analysed with Microsoft Excel and software Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. Results: The pre-intervention overall KAP score of each student was found to be poor in 17.4%, average in 61.6%, and excellent in 20.9% in study participants. Post-intervention grades were found to be poor, average, and excellent in 1.1%, 8.14%, and 90.7% study participants, respectively. A statistically significant decrease in the percentage of students with poor grade and a significant increase in those with excellent grade were observed. Conclusion: There is a need for suitable amendments in current MBBS curriculum to include modules which comprehensively address the core issues of ABR, HAIs and Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS). This would help to bring out attitude and behavioural changes in students at the very grass-root level.

Keywords

• antibiotic stewardship
• healthcare professionals
• pre-intervention
• post-intervention