OBJECTIVES: To assess the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) on Antimicrobial Stewardship Program among the Community Pharmacies in South India.

METHODS: A pilot survey was conducted among the community pharmacies by pharmacy post graduates over a period of 6 months in a South Indian urban area. Pharmacies which are runned by non-registered pharmacists and online pharmacies were excluded. Pharmacists who were willing to participate were included. A well-developed and validated KAP questionnaire on Antimicrobial Stewardship program was given to all the selected pharmacies after getting an oral consent. The data entry was done with the help of Microsoft excel 2019. Descriptive statistics were performed to assess the responses captured from the KAP questionnaire.

RESULTS: A total of 140 community pharmacists were approached for the study among them 100 participated, the overall response rate was 71.4%. Majority (81.8%) were males. High number of participants were between the 31 to 40 age group (n=33) and nearly 69% had their main educational background as Diploma in Pharmacy (D Pharmacy). Around 60% pharmacists had One to five years experience followed by 6-11 years experience (38%) more than 12 years (2%) in community pharmacy setting. Around 75% of the community pharmacists have the knowledge that antimicrobials should not be dispensed without prescription. Also, 69% of the pharmacists agreed that antimicrobials should not be given for viral infection because it won’t work. In attitude, community pharmacists ``agreed” to risk of developing resistance on irrational use of antimicrobials. However, it was found that 54% of community pharmacists have the practice of dispensing antimicrobial without prescription.

CONCLUSIONS: Majority of pharmacists had the knowledge that antimicrobials should not be given without prescription. Surprisingly, they had a practice of dispensing. The results represent the need for education on the antimicrobial stewardship program among community pharmacy settings.