Comparison of perceptions and concerns of antimicrobial resistance between veterinary and medical health professionals.

Abstract

To understand the comparative concerns and perceptions of veterinary and medical health professionals regarding antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and its effects on their clinical practices. 17 Doctors of medicine and veterinary medicine and 1 nurse practitioner were interviewed to collect qualitative-based data regarding their clinical experience with AMR. The interviews from the health professionals were transcribed and thematically coded to reveal 3 overarching themes and 7 corresponding subthemes. Both veterinary and human medical health professionals share concerns about antimicrobial resistance, specifically regarding the development of "superbugs" and increased difficulty in treating disease. However, there were some unique differences in the clinical effects of AMR between the professions in relation to client demand and satisfaction, ability to track/test trends, and approaches to therapy. Both professions also discussed the possible one-health implications of AMR and its transmission. There are several barriers to veterinarians that prevent them from using best-practice methods with antimicrobials that were not shared with human medical personnel, who can use antibiotic stewardship principles and readily access necessary testing. However, many veterinarians possessed a unique one-health-based understanding of how antimicrobial resistance can affect the wider community across species and globally that many human medical professionals had not previously considered. This demonstrates an increased need for one-health understanding within human medical professionals and a need for veterinarians to have access to necessary tools to comply with stewardship guidelines, such as culture and sensitivity testing and antibiograms, to have the ability to limit their contribution to antibiotic resistance.