Facilitators and barriers of antimicrobial stewardship program: A web-based survey questionnaire

This study aimed to identify the facilitators and the barriers of antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) program in Riyadh city, Saudi Arabia. This was a cross-sectional study that included a web-based questionnaire. The validated questionnaire was converted to an online form that was distributed to be filled by healthcare providers. About 70.48% of the healthcare providers have agreed that didactic educa-tion and training should be available, 68.10% have agreed that pathogens and antimicrobial susceptibility test results should be available. Additionally, more than half of the respondents agreed that the major barriers could be lack of internal policy and guidelines (60.71%), limited training opportunities (60.71%). The result of the present study confirmed several findings of previous research examining barriers and facilita-tors of antimicrobial stewardship program implementation. Our study results could help policy makers and concerned health authorities to identify and consider into account these barriers and facilitators when they planning to implement antimicrobial stewardship.