A striking data point emerges from new research on antimicrobial stewardship in Somalia: while 78.6 percent of healthcare professionals endorse stewardship-aligned attitudes, their average knowledge score stands at just 69.3 percent. The cross-sectional study of 426 professionals published in PLOS Global Public Health uncovered this critical knowledge-practice gap affecting physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other clinical staff.
Despite moderate overall scores, many respondents demonstrated misconceptions about antibiotic use and resistance mechanisms—gaps that could significantly undermine antimicrobial resistance control initiatives. The research revealed a significant correlation between knowledge levels and both attitudes (0.46) and awareness (0.53), suggesting that education deficits directly impact practice intentions and behaviors. These findings underscore the inadequacy of relying solely on attitude change to combat antimicrobial resistance in resource-limited settings without accompanying knowledge-based interventions.
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