Increasing antimicrobial resistance is one of the pressing concerns globally. Injudicious use of antibiotics is one of the modifiable factors responsible for antimicrobial resistance. Given the widespread use of antimicrobials in community settings, pharmacists have an important role in ensuring appropriate use of antibiotics. The objective of this study was to assess the perception and self-reported practices of community pharmacists towards antimicrobial stewardship. A cross-sectional study was conducted among community pharmacists between March–April, 2015, using a self-administered, pre-tested questionnaire in the State of Selangor, Malaysia. A simple random sampling approach was used to select pharmacy sites. Descriptive and inferential statistical methods were used to analyse the data. A total of 188 pharmacists responded to the survey, giving a response rate of 83.5%. The majority of participants (n = 182, 96.8%) believed that antimicrobial stewardship program helps healthcare professionals to improve the quality of patient care. However, more than half of pharmacists were neutral in their opinion about the incorporation of antimicrobial stewardship programs in community pharmacies (n = 102, 54.2%). Though collaboration was often done by pharmacists with other health professionals over the use of antibiotics (n = 104, 55.3%), a significant proportion of participants (n = 102, 54.2%) rarely/occasionally participate in antimicrobial awareness campaigns. Pharmacists having postgraduate qualification were more likely to held positive perceptions of, and were engaged in, antimicrobial stewardship than their non-postgraduate counterpart (p 10 years) held positive perceptions towards antimicrobial stewardship (p<0.05). The study highlighted some gaps in the perception and practices of community pharmacist towards antimicrobial stewardship. Development of customized interventions would be critical to bridging these gaps and improve their perception and practices towards antimicrobial stewardship.

Immunization rate is one of the best public health outcome and service indicators of the last 100 years. Parental decisions regarding immunization are very important to improve immunization rate. The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between parental knowledge-practices (KP) and children's immunization completeness.

Objective. To assess senior pharmacy students’ knowledge of and perceptions about pharmacovigilance and reporting of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) at 5 public universities in MalaysiaMethods. A cross-sectional study was conducted between December 1, 2010, and January 31, 2010, using a validated self-administered questionnaire delivered to a sample of 510 final-year (fourth-year) pharmacy students at 5 Malaysian public universities.Results. Four hundred twenty-one (84%) students responded to the survey. About 60% (n = 240) indicated that they had taken courses on the concept of pharmacovigilance during their current pharmacy curriculum. The mean score for knowledge about pharmacovigilance and ADR reporting was 6.9 ± 1.4. There was a significant difference in the mean scores for knowledge about pharmacovigilance across the 5 universities. The majority (82.3%) of respondents felt it was necessary to confirm the causal relationship between the drug and the ADR. About 57.8% (n = 241) of the respondents believe...

Parents’ knowledge about immunization is an important predictor factor for their children’s immunization status. The aims of this study were to assess parents’ knowledge and to evaluate the effect of a short educational intervention on improving parents’ knowledge of childhood immunization.

Introduction: This study is aimed to investigate the understanding of antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance and its correlate factors among final-year medical and pharmacy students at International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). Methodology: This was a cross-sectional study. The study instrument was developed by extensive literature search and was subjected to face validity and content validity to medical and pharmacy academics. A pilot study was conducted to ascertain the reliability coefficient. Data was entered to SPSS version 17 and descriptive and inferential statistics were applied. Results: A total of 123 questionnaires were included in the study. Out of 123 respondents, 58.5% (n = 72) were final-year medical students, while 41.5% (n = 51) were final-year pharmacy students. The majority of the respondents showed adequate knowledge regarding the course contents related to antibiotics (n = 116; 94.3%). Almost all the respondents correctly reported the difference between bactericidal and bacteriostatic antibiotics. Only 15.4% (n = 19) and 27.6% (n = 34) of students were able to recognize Streptococcus pyogenes as non-pencillin resistant bacterium and Enterococcus as vancomycin-resistant bacterium, respectively. Conclusions: The students showed good understanding regarding antibiotic resistance. In comparison to medical students, pharmacy students showed better understanding and more adequate knowledge, as the mean value for each domain was slightly higher for pharmacy students. Extensively improving the curriculum and educating healthcare professionals, especially physicians and pharmacists, right from the time of their educational training can inculcate a moral responsibility toward the judicious use of antibiotics, which can serve to eradicate antibiotic resistance.

Parents are the main decision makers for their children vaccinations. This fact makes parents’ immunization knowledge and practices as predictor factors for immunization uptake and timeliness. The aim of this pilot study was to develop a reliable and valid instrument in Malaysian language to measure immunization knowledge and practice (KP) of Malaysian parents. A cross-sectional prospective pilot survey was conducted among 88 Malaysian parents who attended public health facilities that provide vaccinations. Translated immunization KP questionnaires (Bahasa Melayu version) were used. Descriptive statistics were applied, face and content validity were assessed, and internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and construct validity were determined. The mean ± standard deviation (SD) of the knowledge scores was 7.36 ± 2.29 and for practice scores was 7.13 ± 2.20. Good internal consistency was found for knowledge and practice items (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.757 and 0.743 respectively); the test-retest reliability value was 0.740 (p = 0.014). A panel of three specialist pharmacists who are experts in this field judged the face and content validity of the final questionnaire. Parents with up-to-date immunized children had significantly better knowledge and practice scores than parents who did not (p < 0.001 and p = 0.001 respectively), suggesting a good construct validity. A significant difference was found in knowledge and practice scores among parents’ age (p = 0.006 and p = 0.029 respectively) and place of living (p = 0.037 and p = 0.043). The parents’ knowledge level was positively associated with their practice toward immunization (Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient 0.310, p = 0.003). The pilot study concluded that the Bahasa Melayu version of the immunization KP questionnaire has good reliability and validity for measuring the knowledge and practices of Malaysian parents and therefore this version can be used in future research.