OBJECTIVES : The World Health Organisation urges all nations to increase public knowledge of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance (ABR). This study assessed the impact of an educational intervention on public knowledge of antibiotics and ABR in Jelutong District, Penang, Malaysia.

METHODS : Using convenience sampling, 70 general public (aged ≥18 years) who lived in Jelutong were invited to attend a lecture on antibiotics and ABR. The lecture was conducted in Malay with the aid of PowerPoint slides, was one hour in duration and was held in a community hall which was well equipped with audio-visual aids. An antibiotic booklet was distributed to each participant at the beginning of the lecture while an antibiotic digital video disc was played at the end of the lecture. The participants were asked to complete a validated, pre-tested self-administered questionnaire pre-intervention and post-intervention (immediate effect post-intervention and at one-month and three-month follow-ups). The outcomes measured were changes in antibiotic knowledge scores and ABR knowledge scores. Data was analysed using SPSS version 24.0.

RESULTS : Sixty-eight out of 70 general public participated in the study (participation rate = 97.14%). The means (SD) of their antibiotic knowledge scores were 2.50 (0.92), 8.24 (0.74), 7.85 (0.78) and 7.23 (0.42) pre-intervention, immediate effect post-intervention and at one-month and three-month follow-ups (p<0.001), respectively. The means (SD) of their ABR knowledge scores were 1.24 (0.81), 5.41 (0.50), 5.03 (0.67) and 4.39 (0.95) pre-intervention, immediate effect post-intervention and at one-month and three-month follow-ups (p<0.001), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS : The educational intervention significantly increased public knowledge of antibiotics and ABR in Jelutong. Further research should focus on scaling up the intervention with an emphasis on sustainability so that the intervention will have a broad impact on the whole community in Malaysia.