Unrestrained use of antibiotics increases the risk of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Our project investigates what the elements are that drive a country, veterinary clinic or a farm to reduce the use of antibiotics and prevent AMR.
Our project goal is to provide a situated understanding of antibiotic prescription decision-making. In other words, how different working realities, culture, knowledge and the type of animal itself derive different antibiotic prescription needs/practices among veterinarians and owners. For that, we will focus on contrasting species including food production animals (i.e. dairy cattle) and pets (i.e. dogs) in nations known for a low (i.e. Sweden) and high (i.e. Spain and Brazil) antibiotic use. We are thus providing the knowledge on how the veterinary profession reconciles practices in entirely different scenarios successfully — identifying roads for improving their work and with that aiding in safe warding antimicrobials for all.
A combination of four steps will be used for this purpose, including:
- consultations to define best practices
- in-depth interviews to identify current practices by stakeholders
- an adapted conjoint analysis to confirm findings in a broader population and
- a series of workshops to facilitate sharing and reflection of conclusions.
The linkage of each step will facilitate the triangulation of results, and lead to a solid understanding of the practices that lead to the reduction of antibiotic use and the implications for designing interventions in different contexts.
Investigating different country experiences will serve to generate knowledge exchange and a forum to find optimal practices for rational antibiotic use.
