Survey of Knowledge of Antimicrobial Resistance and Dispensing Practice Among Community Pharmacists in Akwa Ibom State, Southern Nigeria

Community pharmacists have pivotal roles in ensuring appropriate use of antibiotics and in reducing the threat posed by antimicrobial resistance (AMR).This study sought to assess community pharmacists' knowledge of the prevalence of AMR and factors which contribute to AMR, and to compare self-reported dispensing practice with findings of a simulation of management of self-limiting infections.A 13-item paper-based questionnaire was used to collect data from 100 community pharmacists.Data were analysed using SPSS version 25.0 and presented descriptively.Chi-square test was used to test for association between variables.Significance level was set at p < 0.05.Most (58%) of the participants were male within the age range of 25-34 (66%).The average number of medicines dispensed daily was between 101 and 150 (37%), with antibiotics accounting for 32% of medicines dispensed daily.Most of the participants were knowledgeable about the prevalence of AMR at global (98%) and national (96%) levels and factors that contribute to AMR (>80%).There was no significant association between the participants' characteristics and knowledge of AMR (p>0.05).Although the participants generally rated themselves favourably on different dispensing practice statements, their self-reported practice differed from the findings of a prior simulation of management of self-limiting infections conducted among the same population.The participants were very knowledgeable about the prevalence of AMR and contributing factors.However, their selfreported dispensing practice was different from the observed practice in an earlier simulation study.More needs to be done to dissuade community pharmacists from inappropriate dispensing/selling of antibiotics.