Hospital pharmacists’ satisfaction with antimicrobial resistance management in Thailand

Since 2017, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) management has been one of the key performance indicators (KPIs) of tertiary hospitals in Thailand. Pharmacists are an integral part of a multidisciplinary team combating AMR in hospitals. There has been no previous research on Thai pharmacists’ satisfaction with AMR management. This study aimed to investigate hospital pharmacists’ opinions, attitudes, and job satisfaction regarding AMR management as well as the relationships between variables. A cross-sectional survey was conducted. Self-administered questionnaires were posted to both public and private hospitals (n=1,298) across Thailand. Between April and July of 2021, data was collected. Descriptive statistics, Mann Whitney U test, and Kruskal Wallis test were used for analysis. A total of 249 pharmacists who were actively involved in AMR management in their hospitals completed questionnaires. The response rate was 19.2%. The respondents’ average age was 37.20±8.2 years. Most of the pharmacists (77.5%) were female. The average number of years spent as a hospital pharmacist was 12.3±8.2. Approximately 63% believed it was worthwhile to work in AMR management and they liked their current job. Secondary hospital pharmacists had more favorable attitudes than tertiary hospital pharmacists. In terms of job satisfaction, pharmacists in secondary hospitals reported higher level of satisfaction with their salary than pharmacists in the tertiary hospitals (p=0.000). Regarding gender, work competency and career path were found to be statistically significant (p < .05). Males expressed greater satisfaction with work competency than females, whereas females expressed greater satisfaction with their career path. Pharmacists' opinions, attitudes, and job satisfaction with AMR management were significantly positively associated. It can be stated that the hospital pharmacists were optimistic about AMR management. While the majority of them expressed satisfaction with their jobs, improving some factors such as job-related skills and career path is necessary to retain health care professionals in hospitals.