Abstract
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a recognized public health threat today globally. Although many active and passive stewardship strategies are advocated to counter AMR clinically, educating school going children on AMR could be a cost-effective measure to minimize AMR development in the future. We implemented NICE’s e-bug as a module to educate class VII school students on AMR determinants. A prospective quasi-experimental study on 327 students from nine different schools of class VII around Manipal town, Udupi district, Karnataka state, India were included in the study. Ten questions on AMR determinants from the e-bug program were used in written pre-test. After an education intervention, a post-test was conducted. Descriptive statistics to estimate epidemiological characteristics, Wilcoxon Signed Ranks and Kruskal–Wallis tests were applied to analyze statistical significance of pre/post-test performance scores and between schools. Students had inadequate knowledge on seven AMR determinants (antimicrobial indication, its course, hand hygiene, fermentation, spread of infection, microbial multiplication and characteristics of microbe) as analyzed from the post-test performance (p < 0.05). Comparison of post-test performance between schools showed significant improvement in scores (p < 0.05) for three questions (definition on antimicrobial, cover while cough/sneezing and microbial characteristics). Although students exhibited sub-optimal knowledge on some AMR determinants, they showed keenness to learn, which was evident by their post-test performance. Our findings and previous similar studies from Europe are suggestive of early pedagogic interventions on AMR through inclusion of such education modules in the regular school curriculum could be a potential tool for AMR prevention.
Highlights
IntroductionAntimicrobial resistance (AMR) is recognized as a public health hazard worldwide [1]
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is recognized as a public health hazard worldwide [1].Policy makers, healthcare workers and other stakeholders have advocated various methods to counter AMR [2]
Many clinical and lab based active and passive interventions have been in practice, behavioral changes through educational interventions targeted towards students of various age groups are reported to be beneficial [4]
Summary
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is recognized as a public health hazard worldwide [1]. Healthcare workers and other stakeholders have advocated various methods to counter AMR [2]. Studies have tied AMR to inappropriate antimicrobial use encountered across the entire spectrum of healthcare settings [3]. Antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASP) initiated by expert infectious disease physicians and pharmacists are a recognized strategy by the World Health. Many clinical and lab based active and passive interventions have been in practice, behavioral changes through educational interventions targeted towards students of various age groups are reported to be beneficial [4]. ASP at the community level is sparsely reported, AMR burden is commonly seen in this setting. We identified a study that reports community pharmacist-led ASP leads to a reduction in inappropriate antimicrobial prescribing [5]
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