CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS ASOCIADAS A LA RESISTENCIA A ANTIBIÓTICOS EN ESTUDIANTES PERUANOS DE ENFERMERÍA

INTRODUCTION. Antibiotic resistance is a current public health problem that has been approached from the “One health” perspective, and the academic training of health professionals is a key aspect of this approach. OBJECTIVE. To assess the status of knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding the use of antibiotics in nursing students from a private health school in Lima, Peru. METHODS. Cross-sectional descriptive study using a questionnaire previously validated and applied to 114 nursing students. The results were analyzed by central tendencies and Likert scale. RESULTS. 92.1% recognized the inappropriate use of antibiotics as a cause of bacterial resistance to antibiotics, while only 30.7% rejected bacteria as causing the common cold and flu. The average Likert-type scale for attitudes was 3.1 ± 1.2, which appeared to be affected by frequent practices such as the promotion of the sale of antibiotics without a prescription and self-medication. CONCLUSION. Students have appropriate knowledge of the use of antibiotics, but it is not consistent with their attitudes and practices. These attitudes and practices should be corrected to optimize future professional practice in the context of this health problem.