In a recent study published in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, researchers developed an antibiotic resistance (ABR) awareness scale to assess ABR awareness among human healthcare professionals (HHCPs) and animal healthcare professionals (AHCPs).

Background

ABR poses a great threat to population health worldwide, and methods for reliable tools assessing ABR awareness are needed for guiding and evaluating health interventions. Psychometry specialists have devised methods to develop and validate scales for objective measurements of knowledge, abilities, and skills and subjective measurements of values, attitudes, and interests of individuals.

The procedures for developing and validating the measurement methods involve the development of items (identification of domains and the generation of items), development of scale ( the identification of constructs, pretesting of questions, and the extraction of factors), and the evaluation of scale (including method’s dimensionality, reliability, and validity).

About the study

In the present study, researchers designed and tested a 23-item ABR awareness scale for the quantitative evaluation of ABR awareness among HCPs residing in low-income nations and middle-income nations.

The scale comprised questionnaires filled out by HHCPs and AHCPs licensed for prescribing and dispensing antibiotics across six nations, i.e., Nigeria, Ghana, Vietnam, Thailand, Peru, and Tanzania. Individuals were invited via print, mail, or telephonic requests to participate in the study. Invitations were circulated across private clinics, hospitals, postgraduate education programs, and professional healthcare bodies.

Results

The study findings showed that HCPs’ awareness of ABR could be reliably assessed with the validated ABR scale across the nations tested. Using the ABR scale with context questions and objective measurement of practices could inform healthcare interventions for improved antibiotic usage.