OBJECTIVES: Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is a major public health problem worldwide and Ghana is no exception. Knowledge of antibiotic use (ABU), AMR and the concept of Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) among healthcare students is critical in the fight to curb the rise of AMR. There is paucity of data of Ghanaian healthcare students’ knowledge on this subject and therefore this assessment will provide a baseline information that will contribute to the restructuring of their academic curriculum to include AMS concepts as part of efforts to contribute to the efforts to combat AMR.

METHODS: This was a prospective cross-sectional survey that sought to assess the fifth year batches of doctor of pharmacy and medical students and final year (fourth year) batches of physician assistantship and nursing students at the University of Health and Allied Sciences in Ghana on their knowledge in ABU, AMR and ASP using a web-based designed self-administered structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, Fishers’ exact test and multiple logistic regression analysis were conducted on the data collected.

RESULTS: 160 healthcare students were interviewed of which 56.3% (n=90) were male and 58.8% (n=94) were in their fourth year of study. Good knowledge of ABU, AMR and AMS was associated with course of study (p=0.001) and the number of years of study (p<0.0001) as those offering courses with higher number of years of study had better (OR = 5.84 CI 2.09 – 16.26) knowledge of antibiotics.

CONCLUSIONS: There were differences in the level of knowledge of antibiotics among healthcare students studying different courses and at different years of study. Efforts must be made to ensure improved and uniform transfer of knowledge of antibiotics among different healthcare students to sustain the fight against this public health menace.