Construction of Scale to Measure the Attitude of Veterinarians towards Antimicrobial Resistance and Stewardship
G. Vijayakumar *
Veterinary University Training and Research Centre (VUTRC), Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS), Karur, Tamil Nadu, India.
P. Reeja George
College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (CoVAS), Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU), Mannuthy, Thrissur, Kerala, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Antimicrobial resistance has become one of the major health problems in human and animals. This threat is increasing daily and is fueled by a range of factors. Indiscriminate use of antibiotics in animals is one of the greatest source for provoking the global threat. In developing countries, veterinarians are the main driving forces towards use of antibiotics appropriately in the field conditions. Presently there is no provision to monitor the type and quantum of antibiotics prescribed by veterinarians. Here in India, their attitude plays an important role to combat on antimicrobial resistance by promoting judicious use of antibiotics in animals. To know the attitude of veterinarians in Kerala, an effort was made to develop a scale using equal appearing interval method to measure their attitude towards antimicrobial resistance and stewardship. Final scale consisted 15 statements comprising 7 favourable and 8 unfavourable statements to measure attitude of veterinarians towards antimicrobial resistance and stewardship.
Keywords: Attitude of veterinarians, equal appearing interval method, scale construction