DRUG PRESCRIPTION AMONG DENTAL STUDENTS: A SURVEY OF CURRENT KNOWLEDGE AND AWARENESS

Abstract

The goal of this cross-sectional study was to assess the knowledge and awareness of drug prescription among the dental students of Rawalpindi. A questionnaire having 16 close ended questions having equal number of options pertaining to the indication, dosage and duration (number of days) of pain relievers and antibiotics were distributed among 195 students. A significant association was found between frequently encountered dental health conditions and categories of respondents (p=0.03). There were three categories of respondents; third year, fourth year and house officers. The questionnaire was distributed among the respondents of Armed forces institute of Dentistry (AFID), Army medical college (AMC) and Margalla institute of health sciences (MIHS) in Rawalpindi. The house officers undoubtedly wrote the maximum number of prescriptions daily. For a great number of respondents (56.1%), the most common error in prescribing was not inquiring the patient about any allergies (p=0.04). When inquired about the awareness of World Health Organization guidelines to good prescribing, 50.5% respondents were unfamiliar of any such guidelines. The WHO six-step approach to prescribing along with continuous self-directed learning, devise an efficient and practical systematic approach to good prescribing. It was concluded that the students had moderate knowledge on drug prescription. Different educational programs and seminars should be carried out to inculcate the knowledge of these guidelines among the students.