2.1. Study Design and Study Population

This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted over six months among the HS and NHS students of the JF Institute of Health Sciences, Nepal, and microbiological procedures were carried out at the microbiology department of the JF Institute of Health Sciences/Little Angels College of Higher Studies (LACHS). From July to December 2017, a total of 208 students (104 each from HS and NHS categories) were enrolled. The HS students who participated in this study were from BNS (Bachelor of Nursing Science), B.Sc. Nursing (Bachelor of Science in Nursing), and B.Sc. MLT (Bachelor of Science in Medical Laboratory Technology) programs. Both BNS and B.Sc. Nursing fall under the nursing program, but they were recognized as different health science student groups in this study because only those people who have completed the certificate-level course in nursing can apply for the BNS, whereas for B.Sc. Nursing, candidates who have completed a higher secondary level in science can apply. All groups of HS students had frequent clinical posting in hospitals before the sampling period. Student volunteers not from the health science program of LACHS and who were interested to participate in the study were selected as the NHS students. The demographics of the participating students including previous antibiotic exposure or infections were recorded.