Imperial calls for public action on antimicrobial resistance

A new article by Imperial College and Public Health England calls for a coordinated and comprehensive approach to tackling antimicrobial resistance.

Diane Ashiru-Oredope and Susan Hopkins of the National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare Associated Infection and Antimicrobial Resistance at Imperial College London have published an article calling for a coordinated and comprehensive interdisciplinary and multi-faceted approach using behavioural science and targeted at specific groups (both professional and public).

Antimicrobial resistant (AMR) infections claim an estimated 700,000 lives each year globally. It is important that both healthcare professionals and the public know the threat AMR poses and the individual actions that they can take to combat AMR. Antibiotic awareness campaigns in England using posters or leaflets have had little or no impact on knowledge, behaviour or prescription rates.

Centrally coordinated, multi-modal campaigns in two European countries; ongoing for several years and including print and mass media, website, guidelines as well as academic detailing and individual feedback to prescribers have led to reductions in antibiotic use.

Dr Ashiru-Oredope and Dr Hopkins suggest that the only way to change behaviour and reduce antibiotic use in England is to adopt a multimodal approach with an integrated evaluation plan.

The article will be published in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy in November 2015.