| dc.description.abstract | Antibiotic prescribing practices play a critical role in addressing the rising concern of antibiotic resistance and optimizing patient outcomes. While a majority demonstrated a good understanding of the importance of antibiotic stewardship, there were instances of inappropriate prescribing which have become highly persistent in low resource settings. Factors such as patient demand, lack of diagnostic resources, time constraints, and perceived pressure from peers influenced prescribing decisions. In local context, there is paucity of data regarding clinician-prescribing practices. Purpose of the study was to investigate determinants of antibiotic prescription practices for pneumonia among clinicians at Mbagathi level 5 hospital, Kenya. Through a cross-sectional study design, the study explored the level of compliance with pneumonia antibiotic prescription guidelines, socio-economic factors influencing prescription practices, health system-related determinants, and the knowledge and awareness of clinicians regarding pneumonia antibiotic prescription. A census approach was utilized where a total of 151 clinicians participated in the study. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential approaches were used for analyzing data. Categorical data was summarized using frequencies and percentages. Chi square test was used to investigate determinants of compliance. Level of significance was considered at 0.05. Stata version 17 was used for data analysis. Majority, 92(60.5%) of the respondents were male, 64(42.1%) were aged between 31 to 40 years and 59(38.8%) were aged between 41 to 50 years. The findings also showed that 66 (43.4%) were medical officers, 55(36.2%) were clinical officers while 31(20.4%) were consultants. The findings established that 68.4% of the clinicians had high compliance to antibiotic prescription practices for pneumonia while 31.6% had low compliance. Gender of clinician, designation, presence of medical insurance, perception on diagnostic tests availability, availability of drugs presence of staff and knowledge were significant determinants of compliance to antibiotic prescription practices for anemia. There is still gap in compliance to prescription practices which must be effectively addressed through enhancing education, improving resource availability, addressing socioeconomic barriers, promoting gender sensitivity, ensuring adequate staffing, and regular audits. | en_US |
