Table 7. Barriers to initiating or sustaining an antimicrobial stewardship program (n=158).

Barriers	n (%)
Physicians lack of compliance with hospital guidelines and antibiotic prescribing policies	136 (86.1)
Minimal support of the MOPH and absence of regulation	132 (83.5)
Absence of national approved guidelines	127 (80.4)
Lack of training and education in antimicrobial use	126 (79.7)
Lack of support from the medical staff	120 (75.9)
Lack of leadership to promote antimicrobial stewardship	107 (67.7)
Lack of financial incentives to the ID physician/ pharmacist to initiate the program	107 (67.7)
Lack of support from administration or department heads	104 (65.8)
Infectious disease physician shortage	90 (57.0)
Insufficient evidence my hospital would benefit	73 (46.2)

MOPH: Ministry of Public Health