Perspective of Pakistani Physicians towards Hospital Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs: A Multisite Exploratory Qualitative Study

Khezar Hayat, Meagen Rosenthal, Ali Hassan Gillani, Panpan Zhai, Muhammad Majid Aziz, Wenjing Ji, Jie Chang, Hao Hu and Yu Fang
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Khezar Hayat: Department of Pharmacy Administration and Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710061, China
Meagen Rosenthal: Department of Pharmacy Administration, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS 38677, USA
Ali Hassan Gillani: Department of Pharmacy Administration and Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710061, China
Panpan Zhai: Department of Pharmacy Administration and Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710061, China
Muhammad Majid Aziz: Department of Pharmacy Administration and Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710061, China
Wenjing Ji: Department of Pharmacy Administration and Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710061, China
Jie Chang: Department of Pharmacy Administration and Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710061, China
Hao Hu: State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, University of Macau, Macau 999078, China
Yu Fang: Department of Pharmacy Administration and Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710061, China

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 9, 1-15

Abstract: Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global threat and the antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP) is a globally used tool to combat AMR. There is little information on the views among Pakistani physicians regarding AMR and the benefits of hospital antimicrobial stewardship implementation. This study was designed to explore the physicians’ views about ASP. Methods: Qualitative face-to-face and telephonic interviews were conducted by using purposive sampling method with 22 physicians working in seven tertiary care public hospitals of Punjab, Pakistan. All interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Qualitative software was used, and a thematic analysis was conducted. Results: Three broad themes were identified: (1) the growing concern of antimicrobial resistance in Pakistan, (2) the role(s) of healthcare professionals in antibiotic prescribing, and (3) managing antibiotic resistance in hospitals. Inadequate resources, poor healthcare facilities, and insufficiently trained medical staff were the major hurdles in ASP implementation in Pakistan. Conclusions: Our study found a poor familiarity of hospital ASP among physicians working in public sector tertiary care teaching hospitals, and a number of distinct themes emerged during this study that could be helpful in establishing the concept of hospital ASP in Pakistan. Overall, physicians showed a positive attitude towards the enforcement of ASP in all healthcare settings, including teaching hospitals.

Keywords: qualitative; physicians; antimicrobial stewardship program; antibiotic resistance; Pakistan (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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