Knowledge, perception, and attitudes of medical students towards antimicrobial resistance and stewardship: an observational cross-sectional study from Palestine.

Background: Antimicrobial resistance is a global health concern that contributes to significant mortality and morbidity. This study investigated knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes of medical students in Palestinian universities towards antimicrobial resistance and stewardship. The study also investigated associations between variables of students with their knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes.

Methods: A questionnaire was used in this cross-sectional study. Medical students in Palestinian universities were surveyed in this study. In addition to the demographic variables of the medical students, the questionnaire measured knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes of medical students in Palestinian universities towards antimicrobial resistance and stewardship.

Results: In this study, 384 medical students returned complete questionnaires. Of the medical students, 269 (70.1%) were female, 215 (56.0%) lived in urban areas, and 244 (63.5%) were in their clinical training years. Medical students in the clinical phase demonstrated higher knowledge about microbial resistance compared to preclinical students as evidenced by a mean score of 89.7 ± 15.9 compared to 74.0 ± 26.4, respectively (p < 0.05). Similarly, clinical students displayed higher score regarding antimicrobial resistance perception, with a mean score of 85.7 ± 15.6, contrasted with 72.6 ± 24.1 among preclinical students. In terms of knowledge pertaining to antimicrobial stewardship, clinical students scored higher with a mean of 63.4 ± 28.5 compared to 54.5 ± 31.5 among preclinical students. Regarding attitudes, clinical students also demonstrated a higher mean score of 67.6 ± 22.6 in contrast to 61.1 ± 24.6 among preclinical students.

Conclusion: The medical students are the future workforce of physicians in any healthcare system. Therefore, increasing knowledge of the medical students about and how to combat antimicrobial resistance can help save lives and improve patient outcomes. More studies are needed to find the best ways to increase knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes of medical students towards antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial stewardship.