Improving patient engagement on AMR

There is a need for increasing awareness within healthcare settings that, although the patient is the key person in their own healthcare, they are often missed out in crucial conversations relating to infection management and the risk of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). There are concerns that even when patients have contracted resistant infections, they are left with little or no information on what this means for them. This can influence health decisions and patient outcomes, and has knock-on consequences, such as a sense of anxiety about the future, which can affect family life and mental wellbeing.

The drive to reduce inappropriate antimicrobial use, in order to curb the emergence of resistance and incidence of difficult-to-treat infections, requires a long and multifaceted strategy, and success is limited by a lack of awareness among healthcare professionals, the patients, and the public. More actions must be taken now, for individual patient benefit, and as part of global efforts to tackle the biggest threat to medical care. This article aims to explore the concept of patient engagement with AMR, from a UK hospital care perspective, and concludes with a list of recommendations for national and international consideration in guidelines and strategy.

Background