TY - JOUR
T1 - Patient and public understanding and knowledge of antimicrobial resistance and stewardship in a UK hospital: Should public campaigns change focus?
AU - Micallef, Christianne
AU - Kildonaviciute, Kornelija
AU - Castro-Sánchez, Enrique
AU - Scibor-Stepien, Aleksandra
AU - Santos, Reem
AU - Aliyu, Sani H.
AU - Cooke, Fiona J.
AU - Pacey, Sarah
AU - Holmes, Alison H.
AU - Enoch, David A.
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank the pre-registration pharmacists at Addenbrooke's Hospital for helping design the educational material that was given to members of the general public and for distributing the quiz. We also thank the hospital volunteers who helped distribute the quiz. The research was conducted as part of routine clinical work at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. E. C.-S. receives support from the Antimicrobial Research Collaborative at Imperial College London and the National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare Associated Infection and Antimicrobial Resistance at Imperial College London in partnership with Public Health England.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author 2016.
PY - 2017/1
Y1 - 2017/1
N2 - Background: The rising global tide of antimicrobial resistance is awell-described phenomenon. Employing effective and innovative antimicrobial stewardship strategies is an essential approach to combat this public health threat. Education of the public and patients is paramount to enable the success of such strategies. Methods: A panel of hospital multidisciplinary healthcare professionals was set up and a short quiz containing true/false statements around antimicrobial stewardship and resistance was designed and piloted. An educational leaflet with the correct replies and supporting information was also produced and disseminated. Participants were recruited on a single day (18 November 2015) from the hospital outpatient clinics and the hospital outpatient pharmacy waiting room. Results: One hundred and forty-five completed quizzes were returned, providing a total of 1450 answers. Overall, 934 of 1450 (64%) statements were scored correctly whilst 481 (33%) were scored incorrectly; 35 (3%) statements were left unscored. We speculate that these results may demonstrate that respondents understood the statements, as only a small proportion of statements were left unanswered. The question dealing with the definition of antimicrobial resistance and the question dealing with the definition of antimicrobial stewardship obtained the most incorrect replies (85% and 72%, respectively). However, a specific factual recall question regarding only one microorganism (MRSA) received the most correct responses (99%). Conclusions: We describe a simple, innovative method of engagement with patients and the general public to help educate and disseminate important public health messages around antimicrobial resistance and stewardship. We also identified the need for public health campaigns to address the knowledge gaps found around this topic.
AB - Background: The rising global tide of antimicrobial resistance is awell-described phenomenon. Employing effective and innovative antimicrobial stewardship strategies is an essential approach to combat this public health threat. Education of the public and patients is paramount to enable the success of such strategies. Methods: A panel of hospital multidisciplinary healthcare professionals was set up and a short quiz containing true/false statements around antimicrobial stewardship and resistance was designed and piloted. An educational leaflet with the correct replies and supporting information was also produced and disseminated. Participants were recruited on a single day (18 November 2015) from the hospital outpatient clinics and the hospital outpatient pharmacy waiting room. Results: One hundred and forty-five completed quizzes were returned, providing a total of 1450 answers. Overall, 934 of 1450 (64%) statements were scored correctly whilst 481 (33%) were scored incorrectly; 35 (3%) statements were left unscored. We speculate that these results may demonstrate that respondents understood the statements, as only a small proportion of statements were left unanswered. The question dealing with the definition of antimicrobial resistance and the question dealing with the definition of antimicrobial stewardship obtained the most incorrect replies (85% and 72%, respectively). However, a specific factual recall question regarding only one microorganism (MRSA) received the most correct responses (99%). Conclusions: We describe a simple, innovative method of engagement with patients and the general public to help educate and disseminate important public health messages around antimicrobial resistance and stewardship. We also identified the need for public health campaigns to address the knowledge gaps found around this topic.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85014574191&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/jac/dkw387
DO - 10.1093/jac/dkw387
M3 - Article
C2 - 27655854
AN - SCOPUS:85014574191
VL - 72
SP - 311
EP - 314
JO - Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy
JF - Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy
SN - 0305-7453
IS - 1
ER -