Knowledge and perceptions of junior and senior Spanish resident doctors about antibiotic use and resistance: results of a multicenter survey.

BACKGROUND: Antibiotic resistance has been recognized as a worldwide problem. Our aim was to assess the perceptions of Spanish residents about antibiotic use and resistance.
METHODS: An online cross-sectional survey was conducted on all resident doctors in five teaching hospitals (September to November 2010). A link to the questionnaire was e-mailed to 844 doctors. The questionnaire collected demographical characteristics, residents' knowledge about microorganisms of known clinical relevance, their habits in the antibiotic prescription process, and their perceptions on the activities aimed to improve antibiotic use.
RESULTS: We received 279 responses corresponding to 33.05% of all targeted residents. The response rate was higher among junior than among senior residents (39.95% vs. 26.12%; p<0.05). Residents of all hospitals, specialties and seniority mostly considered that antimicrobial resistance was a significant problem at national level (94.3%), at their institution (91.3%), and for their daily practice (83.8%). Residents considered their training regarding antibiotics insufficient, although up to 86.5% had prescribed antibiotics in the last month. They preferred the availability of local antibiotic guidelines (65%), specific teaching sessions, specific antimicrobial management teams or readily accessible advice from a group or an infectious diseases specialist, to improve antibiotic prescribing, rather than other restrictive interventions.
CONCLUSIONS: Most residents at the hospitals surveyed believed that antibiotic resistance was a serious problem. The results of this survey provided very important information to optimize adherence to Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs (ASPs). Educational strategies and non-restrictive aids are the most valuable interventions, which ASPs should capitalize on to improve antimicrobial prescription.