3 Behavioural change

A change in the outlook, understanding and behaviour about AMU is essential in both healthcare facilities and society in general. The aims of behavioural change are to:

• increase the awareness and understanding of AMR, and responsible AMU
• dispel common myths and misconceptions among the public about AMU
• help the public to understand what AMR means, and how it affects them and their families
• demonstrate examples of inappropriate AMU, such as for viral infections.

Effective behavioural change requires individuals at every level of healthcare to be involved and understand their role, details of which should be included in relevant policies, job descriptions, and updated procedures, equipment and staffing. At the facility level, educational material in the form of posters and leaflets can be targeted at patients; at a national level, the wider public should be engaged with media campaigns to promote awareness.

There is always going to be resistance to change within organisations and among individuals. However, you can encourage acceptance and ‘sell’ the change idea within the healthcare facility by:

• explaining the benefits beyond helping patients (what’s in it for me?)
• providing credible evidence – storytelling (the story of me, the story of we, the story of us)
• creating a culture of involvement (design to implementation, reporting success, regularly informing participants)
• enabling your clinical leaders
• enabling your senior leaders.

In any community, there are people whose behaviours enable them to find better solutions to a problem than their peers. An AMS committee may identify these individuals and engage them in a specific role as champions of AMS, to play a central part in cultural change.

Behavioural change can also be promoted by antibiotic awareness campaigns such as World Antimicrobial Awareness Week [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] , and other targeted campaigns at national or local community level (WHO, n.d. 2). An example of a national campaign is the Antibiotic Guardian initiative, set up in 2014 by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). This encourages all individuals – whether ‘health or social care professionals’, ‘students, educators or scientists’ or simply members of the public – to select a suitable pledge to use (or promote the use of) antibiotics wisely that is appropriate for their particular role. Families and educators are further directed to the e-Bug site, which provides educational games and resources for teaching children and young people of 3–16 about antibiotics and their responsible use.