## 1 Introduction  
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has been recognised as an imminent threat to the global healthcare systems and the United Nation's (UN) sustainable development goals (SDGs) [1, 2, 3, 4]. The prevalence of AMR is on the rise, whilst new classes of antibiotics are either scarce or unavailable [5, 6]. Globally, there have been action plans to tackle AMR through continuous discussions between experts, which are then fed into the international, national, and local authorities for implementation [7]. Moreover, it has been established that despite the need for a concerted effort, the challenges to combat AMR vary widely based on the geographical and economical differences that exist at the international, national and local levels [8]. The reasons for AMR are multifactorial and multidimensional [9, 10, 11, 12]. Prescriber/dispenser behaviour, patient/client behaviour, and the governance and regulatory affairs contribute to the spread of AMR and the challenges to combat it [13, 14, 15, 16, 17]. The South East Asian region, for example, one of those worst affected by AMR, is home to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) [18, 19, 20]. Prescriber and patient behaviour, availability of antibiotics and legislation of antibiotics' sale and advertising (which is forbidden in many other parts of the world), as well as rising incomes, are the main reasons for AMR in this region [18; 19]. Moreover, South East Asia has become the home to a number of upper middle-income economies such as Thailand [20; 21], where not only economic development and the subsequent improvement of purchasing power, but also the legal dispensing of antibiotics without a doctor's prescription by community pharmacists, have together exacerbated the spread of AMR [8; 13; 14; 15; 16; 17; 22; 23; 24; 25]. Easy access to antibiotics and self-medication by patients led to the introduction and implementation of antibiotic smart use (ASU) by the Government of Thailand in 2007 [26]. The ASU was integrated into a national strategic plan on antimicrobial resistance (NSP-AMR 2017-2021) in 2016, and was then launched in hospital settings. The programme promoted rational antibiotic prescribing by providing financial incentives to recognise appropriate prescribing behaviour by healthcare providers in the hospital settings. The NSP-AMR 2017-2021 has had remarkable success in changing prescribers' behaviour [14; 26; 27]. Following its success at the hospital level, the ASU programme was then piloted among community pharmacists with a focus on screening for pharyngitis, a common upper respiratory tract infection, in 2017 [28]. Community pharmacists have been recognised as a first port of call for healthcare advice and services because of convenient accessibility [29]. In Thailand, community pharmacists are licensed pharmacists who have completed the requirements of one of the recognised pharmacy programmes, i.e., BSc in Pharmacy, BPharm, MPharm, or PharmD, and have passed the professional licensure examination from the Pharmacy Council of Thailand (PCT) [30]. Since 2009, pharmacy education has changed to a 6-year PharmD programme replacing the 5-year BPharm programme [31]. The PharmD programme offers the graduates more specialised competencies, such as clinical skills, that are needed to deal with the day to day demands of the patients/clients [31; 32]. A pharmacist could either take full employment as a community pharmacist or decide to divide their time into working for two or more employers. For example, one could work three days a week in a community pharmacy setting and two days a week in a hospital setting as a hospital pharmacist. The PCT legally authorises the community pharmacists to dispense antibiotics without a prescription [22; 30; 33]. Recent studies, however, have shown that more than 50% of community pharmacists did not follow the antibiotic guidelines for the management of upper respiratory infections (URIs), acute diarrhoea and simple wounds [34].