Assessment of Awareness among Medical Students on the WHO Access, Watch, and Reserve (AWaRe) Classification of Antibiotics
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3329/mediscope.v13i1.87094Keywords:
Antibiotic, AWaRe classification, Antibiotic resistance, Medical studentsAbstract
Background and objective: Antibiotics are essential for the treatment of bacterial infections. Inappropriate antibiotic prescribing patterns lead to the development of increasingly resistant bacterial strains. One of the most effective methods to combat antibiotic resistance is the WHO Access, Watch, and Reverse (AWaRe) classification of antibiotics. The study was therefore an effort to determine whether there is any impact on increasing awareness of the WHO AWaRe antibiotic classification among third-year medical students who will become future doctors.
Methods: Interventional study with an educational intervention was conducted in the Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Gazi Medical College, Khulna, and Armed Forces Medical College, Dhaka, from April 2025 to November 2025. A total of 183 participants of 3rd year medical students were participated. The awareness of medical students on knowledge, attitude, and antibiotic prescribing perception was assessed and compared using a 10-item structured questionnaire.
Results: Students who had not heard about the AWaRe classification of antibiotics in the pre-interventional phase were 80.9%, but the knowledge regarding the meaning and purpose of AWaRe classification of antibiotics increased from 6.6% to 44.3% after receiving the intervention. The percentage of students who agreed to follow the AWaRe classification of antibiotics in their future practice increased from 65.6% to 78.1%, and the percentage of students who agreed that the AWaRe classification of antibiotics can suggest safe choices of antibiotics increased from 47.5% to 64%. A significant increase (p <0.05) in knowledge, attitude, and perception score was found after educational intervention.
Conclusion: This study revealed significant gaps in knowledge and attitudes towards AWaRe, emphasizing the necessity of increasing awareness amongst medical practitioners to promote rational use of antibiotics.
Mediscope 2026;13(1): 08-15
Downloads
0
0
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Sarmin Sultana, Sadia Binte Anwar Sonia, Sumaiya Binte Wahid, Niger Sultana, Shaon Akter Nipu, Rumana Sharmin
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish in the Mediscope agree to the following terms that:
- Authors retain copyright and grant Mediscope the right of first publication of the work.
Articles in Mediscope are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License CC BY-4.0. This license permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the distribution of the journal’s published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as greater citation of published work.
