Background: Antibiotics resistance is the development of bacterial resistance to the effects of antibiotics, which leads to the flaring up of infections. Antibiotic resistance will still be a major threat unless we modify the way of prescribing and using antibiotics. The pace that antibiotic resistance is developing is outpacing the development of new antibiotics, this will cause major future challenges. The present study was aimed to evaluate the awareness among medical students of Umm Al-Qura Medical College in Makkah, toward antibiotic resistance.
Methodology: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted at Umm Al-Qura Medical College (male and female section) in March 2018. The total study population was 770 medical students of second, third, and fourth years. A questionnaire was constructed to evaluate the awareness level. Data was presented in the form of frequencies and percentages.
Results: Among 770 medical students, 291 filled the questionnaire: 166 (57%) were males, while 125 (43%) were females. Regarding the term "antibiotic resistance", there were 288 (99%) who at least heard about it. Second, third, and fourth years medical students had awareness of antibiotic resistance at different levels: 59%, 65%, and 64%, respectively.
Conclusions: A moderate level of awareness about antibiotic resistance was found among the study respondents. We recommend increasing the perception in regards to antibiotics resistance through continuous medical education courses and campaigns. The reformed academic curriculum which was recently implemented in Umm Al-Qura University Medical College needs to contain more comprehensive lectures and activities on antibiotic resistance. Furthermore, similar studies in other medical colleges of the kingdom have to be advocated.
Key words: Antibiotic resistance, medical students, awareness.
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