Do medical students feel prepared to prescribe antibiotics responsibly? Results from a cross-sectional survey in 29 European countries
Oliver Dyar
(1)
,
Dilip Nathwani
(2)
,
Dominique L. Monnet
(3)
,
Inge Gyssens
(4, 5)
,
Cecilia Stålsby Lundborg
(1)
,
Céline Pulcini
(6, 7)
,
Agnes Wechsler-Fördös
,
Tomislav Kostyanev
,
Vera Vlahović-Palčevski
(8)
,
Milan Kolar
,
Ulrich Jensen
,
Gavin Barlow
,
Irja Lutsar
(9)
,
Liina Tamm
,
Jaana Vuopio
,
Winfried V. Kern
(10)
,
Diamantis Kofteridis
,
Szilágyi Emese
,
Karl Kristinsson
,
Colm Bergin
(11)
,
Leonardo Pagani
(12)
,
Pierluigi Viale
(13)
,
Uga Dumpis
,
Raimonda Matulionytė
,
Peter Zarb
,
Gunnar Simonsen
,
Aleksander Deptula
,
José-Artur Paiva
(14)
,
Dragos Florea
,
Leonard Siegfried
,
Bojana Beović
(15)
,
José Ramón Paño-Pardo
,
Cecilia Lindsjö
,
Benedikt Huttner
(16)
1
Karolinska Institutet [Stockholm]
2 Ninewells Hospital and Medical School [Dundee]
3 ECDC - European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control [Stockholm, Sweden]
4 Radboud University Medical Center [Nijmegen]
5 UHasselt - Hasselt University
6 Service des Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales [CHRU Nancy]
7 APEMAC - Maladies chroniques, santé perçue, et processus d'adaptation
8 University Hospital Rijeka
9 Department of Microbiology
10 Department of Medicine II
11 St James's Hospital, Dublin
12 Centre Hospitalier Annecy-Genevois [Saint-Julien-en-Genevois]
13 Department of Internal Medicine, Geriatrics and Nephrologic Diseases, Section of Infectious Diseases, S.Orsola-Malpighi Hospital
14 Centro Hospitalar Universitário São João - Faculty of Medicine - University of Porto - Grupo de Infecção e Sepsis, Porto
15 University of Ljubljana
16 Department of Infectious Diseases and Infection Control [Geneva, Switzerland]
2 Ninewells Hospital and Medical School [Dundee]
3 ECDC - European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control [Stockholm, Sweden]
4 Radboud University Medical Center [Nijmegen]
5 UHasselt - Hasselt University
6 Service des Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales [CHRU Nancy]
7 APEMAC - Maladies chroniques, santé perçue, et processus d'adaptation
8 University Hospital Rijeka
9 Department of Microbiology
10 Department of Medicine II
11 St James's Hospital, Dublin
12 Centre Hospitalier Annecy-Genevois [Saint-Julien-en-Genevois]
13 Department of Internal Medicine, Geriatrics and Nephrologic Diseases, Section of Infectious Diseases, S.Orsola-Malpighi Hospital
14 Centro Hospitalar Universitário São João - Faculty of Medicine - University of Porto - Grupo de Infecção e Sepsis, Porto
15 University of Ljubljana
16 Department of Infectious Diseases and Infection Control [Geneva, Switzerland]
Agnes Wechsler-Fördös
- Function : Author
Tomislav Kostyanev
- Function : Author
Milan Kolar
- Function : Author
Ulrich Jensen
- Function : Author
Gavin Barlow
- Function : Author
Liina Tamm
- Function : Author
Jaana Vuopio
- Function : Author
Diamantis Kofteridis
- Function : Author
- PersonId : 797153
- ORCID : 0000-0001-7603-2592
Szilágyi Emese
- Function : Author
Karl Kristinsson
- Function : Author
Leonardo Pagani
- Function : Author
- PersonId : 781948
- ORCID : 0000-0002-2553-9147
Uga Dumpis
- Function : Author
Raimonda Matulionytė
- Function : Author
Peter Zarb
- Function : Author
Gunnar Simonsen
- Function : Author
Aleksander Deptula
- Function : Author
Dragos Florea
- Function : Author
Leonard Siegfried
- Function : Author
José Ramón Paño-Pardo
- Function : Author
Cecilia Lindsjö
- Function : Author
Benedikt Huttner
- Function : Author
- PersonId : 797155
- ORCID : 0000-0002-1749-9464
Abstract
Background: In an era of antibiotic resistance, medical students must be prepared to prescribe antibiotics responsibly.
Objectives: To assess self-reported preparedness among final-year medical students at European universities, using a comprehensive set of topics related to prudent antibiotic use.
Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional, multicentre, web-based survey. All medical-degree students in their final year of studies at European universities were eligible to participate. A preparedness score was calculated for each student and mean scores were compared at medical school and country levels. Comparisons were made with national-level data on resistance among four common bacterial pathogens.
Results: In total, 7328 responses were included from 179/296 eligible medical schools in 29/29 countries. Students felt at least sufficiently prepared on a mean of 71.2% of topics assessed, ranging from 54.8% (Portugal) to 84.8% (Latvia). The proportion of students wanting more education on prudent antibiotic use or general antibiotic use ranged from 20.3% (Sweden) to 94.3% (Slovakia), with a mean of 66.1%, and was strongly inversely correlated with preparedness scores (Spearman's ρ = -0.72, n = 29, P < 0.001). Higher prevalence rates of antibiotic-non-susceptible bacteria were associated with lower preparedness scores and higher self-reported needs for further education (P < 0.01).
Conclusions: Most final-year European medical students feel they still need more education on antibiotic use for their future practice as junior doctors. Patterns of preparedness on specific topics were identified, were highly consistent across countries, and correlated with both perceived need for further education and levels of antibiotic resistance among common bacteria.