Health care practitioners' level of awareness on antimicrobial resistance in Grenada.
Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) has become a global public health emergency and there is limited evidence of the extent of healthcare practitioners' knowledge and attitude to the issue in Grenada.
A cross-sectional study utilising self-administered surveys was conducted with registered physicians, pharmacists, and pathology laboratory technicians to evaluate health care workers knowledge about antimicrobial resistance in Grenada.
The study found that while most practitioners could correctly define AMR, there was variability in knowledge about the judicious use of antimicrobials. About one in four physicians (26.4%) did not know whether AMR was a significant problem in the institution(s) where they practiced, compared with the majority (61.7%) who said it was not a problem. However, 41.6% of pharmacists felt that AMR was a national problem; although all (100%) laboratory technicians reportedly did not know if AMR was a significant national problem. Three key factors were perceived by more than 50.0% of each health practitioner group to have contributed to AMR: patients demanding antibiotics, unnecessarily prescribing antimicrobials, and insufficient patient advice about antibiotics. The vast majority of physicians (75.5%), pharmacists (83.3%), and all laboratory technicians (100.0%) agreed that the lack of a surveillance system for monitoring patient history of antibiotic use was a key factor contributing to lack of understanding of AMR issues in Grenada.
This study highlights the urgent need for continuing professional development on AMR and the development of accessible policies, guidelines and a robust surveillance system on the safe and judicious use of antimicrobials to improve antimicrobial stewardship in Grenada.