Knowledge, attitude, and practice toward antibiotic use among the general public in a resource-poor setting: A case of Aden-Yemen.

INTRODUCTION: Antibiotic overuse and misuse can cause serious health issues. These problems have contributed to a rise in bacterial resistance. Hence, our study aims to highlight the existing knowledge and attitudes toward antibiotic usage among the general public in Aden-Yemen. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional descriptive study of knowledge, attitude, and practice of the general public was conducted in different areas of Aden city-Yemen. The study conveniently selected a sample of 400 general public working in different areas in Aden. Descriptive statistics were used for data analysis. RESULTS: A total of 400 participants were involved in the study. Nearly 88.8% administered antibiotics in all cases of fever, 58.3% thought that antibiotics could cure infections caused by the virus, and 65.5% disagree that antibiotics should be stopped as soon as the complaint disappears. More than 77.5% thought that antibiotics in cases of the common cold are not necessary. However, 46.5% incorrectly thought that "early use of antibiotics in patients with cough, running nose, and sore throat would be cured quickly". Concerning knowledge of antibiotic resistance, 81.5% correctly answered that "overuse of antibiotics increases the risk of resistance. Most respondents reported that physicians were their primary source of information regarding antibiotic use. The most noted among respondents was that 62.7% had antibiotics for treatment without prescription in the last six months. CONCLUSIONS: Respondents have adequate knowledge and moderate attitude toward antibiotic use. However, self-medication was common practice among the general public of Aden. Therefore, they had a misunderstanding, misconception, and irrational use of antibiotics.

Detection of Short-Term Side Effects of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 Vaccine: A Cross-Sectional Study in a War-Torn Country.

Purpose: The chAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine is the first COVID-19 vaccine available in Yemen. Hence, this local-based study was used to identify the type and frequency of short-term side effects following 48 hours of the first shot of the vaccine. Methods: A cross-section of vaccinated participants in Aden were surveyed by telephone. Descriptive statistics were used for statistical analysis. Results: A total of 500 participants were included through convenient sampling. 27% of them were health care providers. Nearly 70% of the respondent experienced side effects. The top three side effects reported were fever (n=276, 55.2%), myalgia (n=270, 54%) and fatigue (n=247, 49.4%). Generally, most participants stated that they experienced the side effects after the first 24 hours of vaccination. Conclusion: Side effects that participants experienced were not different from the literature, indicating a safe profile for the vaccine. Further studies are needed to identify the side effects after the second and third dose of the vaccine. In addition, more studies are required to assess the efficacy of the existing vaccines against new variants.

Teaching Pharmacovigilance to Undergraduate Students: Our Experience in Poor-Resource Setting.

Using medicines associated with adverse drug reactions (ADRs) might cause serious health complications. The pharmacist plays a unique role in monitoring ADRs, either by themselves or with the assistance of other health-care professionals, to diminish the hazards of ADRs by distinguishing, reporting, and evaluating any proposed ADRs. To train future pharmacists who have adequate knowledge of ADRs and related aspects, it is highly recommended to introduce the WHO-ISoP pharmacovigilance (PV) in the core curriculum. In this article, we shared the suggested curriculum in Aden University. It is based on comprehensive outlines and reference books that offer a broad view of all aspects related to PV. A brief student course evaluation was carried out. Fifty students participated in the survey. Students expressed the importance of the course and indicated that they wanted to know more about the types of ADRs and common medication errors. Some of them lacked an understanding of the causal relationship between ADRs and risk assessment and not familiar with the reporting forms. They suggested for PV awareness programs for health-care staff and public. The curriculum should be tailored according to the country's needs because each country has its own medication safety issues and PV program. To reach the ultimate objective, this article reports the initiative to develop PV proficiencies in a university setting.