Awareness regarding Antibiotic Stewardship among nurses at selected hospitals, Chennai

Background: Antibiotics are medicines that fight bacterial infections. They can save lives if they are used correctly, but nowadays antibiotic resistance has become a real problem.¹ Infections by resistant microorganisms do not respond treatment, which prolongs the hospital stay, and increases the risk of death. Moreover, if the treatment fails or if the response to treatment is slow, the patient is contagious for longer, which increases the likelihood of transmission of resistant microorganisms.² The clinical outcome can be improved with optimization of antibiotic practices. The aim of the study was to assess the level of awareness regarding Antibiotic stewardship among nurses. Methods and Materials: A cross sectional descriptive correlational research design was adopted to assess the awareness of nurses on antibiotic stewardship. An extensive review of literature and guidance from the experts formed the foundation to the development of the tools such as demographic variables proforma, MCQ questionnaire on antibiotic stewardship in google form. The present study was conducted in selected tertiary care center at Chennai, among 60 nurses selected by purposive sampling technique. After obtaining setting permission and research participants ’consent, a brief introduction of the research was given. Then the data were collected using the predetermined tools through email using google forms. The collected data were organized and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: More than half of nurses had adequate overall knowledge on antibiotic stewardship (55%), majority of them had adequate knowledge in antibiotic treatment (60%) and nurses ’responsibility (63.33%). Around half of them had adequate knowledge in drug related side effects (46.67%) and its causative agents (50%). Conclusion: The present study reveals the necessity for continuous nursing education for knowledge update regarding importance of nurses regarding antibiotic stewardship.