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Objectives Globally there is heightened interest in implementing hospital-wide antimicrobial stewardship program in order to contain the challenges of antimicrobial resistance. The practice of antimicrobial stewardship program in the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi Nigeria has not been adequately researched. The objectives of this study were: To assess the perception, attitudes and practices of antimicrobial stewardship program among health care workers in the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, Nigeria. To determine the factors that influences the attitude and practices of antimicrobial stewardship program among the research participants in the study centre. Method The study setting for this research work was the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, Nigeria; one of the tertiary healthcare institutions for specialized healthcare and training of healthcare professionals in Nigeria. The design for this study was a cross sectional survey among healthcare workers in the teaching hospital using structured self-administered questionnaire. Data collected were analysed using STATA software student trial version 13 after ethical approval from the institutional ethical review board. Demographic characteristics of the respondents were computed and tests for statistical significance were done using regression analysis and chi-square tests at 95% confidence interval (p value=0.05) Results Of the 190 questionnaires distributed 162 were returned, (85.3% response). Among the respondents were 44 (27.2%) males and 118 (72.8%) females; with age range 21 – 63 years: mean age; 35.2 (± 8.2) years; and median age of 34 years. The median length of service of the respondents in the teaching hospital was 5 years. There is low level of awareness of antimicrobial stewardship among the respondents. Only 6 (3.75%) of the respondents considered their knowledge and skills of antimicrobial stewardship program as excellent while 54 (33.5%) of them did not think that antimicrobial resistance is a serious healthcare problem. Bivariate logistic regression analysis for the predictors of antimicrobial stewardship practices were not statistically significant for respondents’ knowledge of antimicrobial stewardship program matched against their age categories (p, 0.14; OR: 1.89); gender (p, 0.76; OR: 1.12); and length of service within the hospital (p, 0.17; OR: 1.64), at 95% confidence interval. Conclusions The respondents in this study showed overall poor knowledge and poo attitude towards the practice of antimicrobial stewardship program. There is need to create awareness through regular training and retraining of healthcare personnel and the development of functional antimicrobial stewardship program within our teaching hospitals to fit global trends and best practices. Further intervention study is required towards behavior change to improve antimicrobial stewardship practices among the healthcare personnel in the teaching hospital. |
