title: Comparison of knowledge and attitudes about antibiotics and resistance, and antibiotics self-practicing between Bachelor of Pharmacy and Doctor of Pharmacy students in Southern India.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is limited research on pharmacy specialization based differences with regards to usage of antibiotics.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To compare the knowledge, attitude and practice of Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPharm) and Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) students about usage and resistance of antibiotics in Southern India.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a cross sectional study involving final year BPharm and PharmD students studying in two private institutions located in Andra Pradesh, India. The study was conducted for the period of 3 months. The questionnaire was divided into 5 components: demographics, knowledge about antibiotic use, attitude towards antibiotic use and resistance, self-antibiotic usage, and possible causes of antibiotic resistance. The study questionnaire was assessed for reliability. Data were analysed by employing Mann Whitney and chi square tests using SPSS version 19.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The sample size comprised of 137 students. The response rate was 76.11% for the study. There was a significant difference in the knowledge of antibiotic use in BPharm and PharmD students (Mean score: 5.09 vs 6.18, p<0.001). The overall attitude of PharmD students about antibiotic use and resistance was positive compared to BPharm students (Mean score: 3.05 vs 2.23, p<0.05). The self-antibiotic practices was higher in BPharm students than PharmD students (36.4% vs 20%, p<0.05). A significantly high number of PharmD students believed that empirical antibiotic therapy led to antibiotic resistance (19.5% versus 48%, P<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  PharmD students were more knowledgeable about antibiotic usage and resistance compared to BPharm students who did not have accurate and the much needed information about the same. Future interventions should be targeted towards educating the BPharm students so that they can implement the acquired knowledge in their practice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, UCSI University . Kuala Lumpur ( Malaysia ). akrampharma67@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Akram
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ahmad
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, UCSI University . Kuala Lumpur ( Malaysia ). umair104@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Muhammad U
authors.initials: MU
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy Practice, Bharat Institute of Technology-Pharmacy . Hyderabad ( India ). jagapharmd2013@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Jagadeesan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Moorthy
authors.affiliation: Kulliyyah of Pharmacy, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) , Kuantan Campus. Pahang ( Malaysia ). jshazoo@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Shazia Q
authors.initials: SQ
authors.lastname: Jamshed
authors.affiliation: Department of Biopharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Shenandoah University . Winchester, VA ( United States ). ipatel@su.edu.
authors.forename: Isha
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Patel
keywords: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Attitudes; Bacterial; Drug Resistance; Health Knowledge; India; Pharmacy; Practice; Students