Antibiotic prescribing and antimicrobial resistance awareness among medical students in Lebanon using novel assessment scales

Q: What was the purpose of the study among Lebanese medical students?

To evaluate AMR awareness and antibiotic prescribing practices, identify knowledge gaps, and propose interventions that promote appropriate antibiotic use and limit AMR emergence locally.

Q: How was the study conducted and who participated?

A cross-sectional online snowball-sampled survey was conducted among 164 Lebanese medical students from July 1, 2021 to September 30, 2022.

Q: What did the results show about knowledge and attitudes?

Participants showed generally positive attitudes toward appropriate antibiotic prescribing and adequate overall knowledge of antibiotic use and resistance, while gaps remained in understanding prudent antibiotic prescribing practices.

Sep 30, 2026

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Widespread antibiotic prescribing in Lebanon has contributed to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) driven by inappropriate use. Medical students as future prescribers play a key role in strengthening AMR awareness and supporting prudent prescribing. A cross-sectional study surveyed 164 Lebanese medical students from July 1, 2021 to September 30, 2022 using a structured online snowball-sampled questionnaire. Novel context-specific scales assessed attitudes, AMR driver knowledge, and prescribing practices, revealing generally adequate overall AMR knowledge and positive attitudes, but gaps in prudent prescribing practices; targeted curriculum, workshops, stewardship training, and policy support are recommended.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

Background

Study aim and design

Questionnaire and novel assessment scales

Participant characteristics

Findings on attitudes and knowledge

Recommendations and interventions

[www. nature.com/scientificreports](www. nature.com/scientificreports) OPEN Antibiotic prescribing and antimicrobial resistance awareness among medical students in Lebanon using novel assessment scales Danielle Saadeh1, Hala Sacre1, Chadia Haddad1,2,3􀀍, Rony M. Zeenny1,4, Jad El Masri1,5,6, Aline Hajj1,7,8, Katia Iskandar1,3,9,10, MarwanAkel1, Nathalie Lahoud1 & Pascale Salameh1,11,12,13 In Lebanon, widespread antibiotic prescribing has led to antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a notable public health concern driven by inappropriate use. As future prescribers, medical students play a critical role in combating AMR. This study aimed to evaluate their AMR awareness and antibiotic prescribing practices, identify knowledge gaps, and suggest interventions to promote appropriate antibiotic use and limit local AMR emergence. A cross-sectional study was conducted among Lebanese medical students from July 1, 2021, to September 30, 2022. Data were collected via a structured online questionnaire using snowball sampling. The questionnaire was informed by published articles and the authors’ expertise. It included sociodemographic data and novel, context-specific scales assessing antibiotic prescribing attitudes, knowledge of AMR drivers, and prudent prescribing practices, addressing gaps in existing tools. The sample included 164 medical students, with a mean age of 22.78 ± 3.94 years. Furthermore, 89.6% were interns, 50.6% were females, and 68.3% studied at a public university. Antibiotic prescription attitudes among the surveyed participants were affected by a better awareness of some contextual factors related to the prescribed drug and the pharmaceutical companies. Decreased awareness was observed for pharmacist-related factors, patient characteristics, and marketing-related factors. Interns had higher awareness than residents about marketing and the contextual factors influencing antibiotic prescribing. Participants had average knowledge levels of AMR and relatively high knowledge levels of strategies to manage it. A significant interrelation was found between awareness offactors influencing physicians’ antibiotic-prescribing attitudes and AMR knowledge (p < 0.05) . Lebanese medical students demonstrated adequate overall knowledge of antibiotic use and resistance, along with generally positive attitudes toward appropriate antibiotic prescribing. However, gaps were noted in their understanding of prudent antibiotic prescribing practices. Targeted interventions, including curriculum enhancement, AMR-focused workshops, stewardship training, and supportive national policies, are recommended to strengthen AMR awareness and promote responsible antibiotic use. Keywords Antibiotic prescription, Antimicrobial resistance, Awareness, Knowledge, Prescribing practice, [www. nature.com/scientificreports/](www. nature.com/scientificreports/) Medical student, lebanon Abbreviations AMR antimicrobial resistance WHO World Health Organization SPSS Statistical Package for Social Sciences KMO Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin SD Standard deviation 1INSPECT-LB (Institut National de Santé Publique, d’Épidémiologie Clinique et de Toxicologie-Liban), Beirut, Lebanon. 2Research Department, Psychiatric Hospital of the Cross, Jal Eddib, Lebanon. 3Faculty of Public health, Lebanese University, Fanar, Lebanon. 4Department of Pharmacy, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon. 5Faculty of Medicine, Lebanese University, Hadat, Lebanon. 6Neuroscience Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Lebanese University, Hadat, Lebanon. 7Faculté de Pharmacie, Université Laval, Québec, Canada. 8Oncology Division, CHU de Québec Université Laval Research Center, Québec, Canada. 9School of Pharmacy, Lebanese International University, Beirut, Lebanon. 10Higher Institute of Public Health (ISSP), Saint Joseph University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon. 11Faculty of Pharmacy, Lebanese University, Hadat, Lebanon. 12Gilbert and Rose-Marie Chagoury School of Medicine,

FAQs

What was the purpose of the study among Lebanese medical students?

To evaluate AMR awareness and antibiotic prescribing practices, identify knowledge gaps, and propose interventions that promote appropriate antibiotic use and limit AMR emergence locally.

How was the study conducted and who participated?

A cross-sectional online snowball-sampled survey was conducted among 164 Lebanese medical students from July 1, 2021 to September 30, 2022.

What did the results show about knowledge and attitudes?

Participants showed generally positive attitudes toward appropriate antibiotic prescribing and adequate overall knowledge of antibiotic use and resistance, while gaps remained in understanding prudent antibiotic prescribing practices.

Sep 30, 2026

Upload by Callum