BACKGROUND: Growing political attention to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) offers a rare opportunity for achieving meaningful action. Many governments have developed national AMR action plans, but most have not yet implemented policy interventions to reduce antimicrobial overuse. A systematic evidenc
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e map can support governments in making evidence-informed decisions about implementing programs to reduce AMR, by identifying, describing, and assessing the full range of evaluated government policy options to reduce antimicrobial use in humans.
METHODS AND FINDINGS: Seven databases were searched from inception to January 28, 2019, (MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, PAIS Index, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science, and PubMed). We identified studies that (1) clearly described a government policy intervention aimed at reducing human antimicrobial use, and (2) applied a quantitative design to measure the impact. We found 69 unique evaluations of government policy interventions carried out across 4 of the 6 WHO regions. These evaluations included randomized controlled trials (n = 4), non-randomized controlled trials (n = 3), controlled before-and-after designs (n = 7), interrupted time series designs (n = 25), uncontrolled before-and-after designs (n = 18), descriptive designs (n = 10), and cohort designs (n = 2). From these we identified 17 unique policy options for governments to reduce the human use of antimicrobials. Many studies evaluated public awareness campaigns (n = 17) and antimicrobial guidelines (n = 13); however, others offered different policy options such as professional regulation, restricted reimbursement, pay for performance, and prescription requirements. Identifying these policies can inform the development of future policies and evaluations in different contexts and health systems. Limitations of our study include the possible omission of unpublished initiatives, and that policies not evaluated with respect to antimicrobial use have not been captured in this review.
CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge this is the first study to provide policy makers with synthesized evidence on specific government policy interventions addressing AMR. In the future, governments should ensure that AMR policy interventions are evaluated using rigorous study designs and that study results are published.
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Research globally has shown that metered dose inhaler (MDI) technique is poor,
with patient education and regular demonstration critical in maintaining correct use of
inhalers. Patient information containing pictorial aids improves understanding o
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f medicine
usage; however, manufacturer leaflets illustrating MDI use may not be easily understood by
low-literacy asthma patients.
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Research Article
PLOS Medicine | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002625 July 31, 2018 / 1-19
DEMOGRAPHIC RESEARCH, VOLUME 36, ARTICLE 37, PAGES 1081-1108; PUBLISHED 5 APRIL 2017; http://www.demographic-research.org/Volumes/Vol36/37/; DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2017.36.37
This research report provides results from the study of living conditions
among people with disabilities in Lesotho. Comparisons are made
between disabled and non-disabled in household level and individual
level. Disability was defined as limitat
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ion to perform certain activities that
was measured according to the Washington City Group questions.
Results obtained in Lesotho are also compared to those obtained in
earlier studies carried out in Mozambique, Zambia, Namibia, Zimbabwe
and Malawi. The Lesotho study was undertaken in 2009-2010.
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Research
Emerging Infectious Diseases Vol. 12, No. 5, May 2006
Research
BMJ 2014;349:g4643 doi: 10.1136/bmj.g4643 (Published 5 August 2014), 1-11
Original research article
Contraception 97 (2018) 439–444
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.contraception.2018.01.003
0010-7824/© 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc.
Research Article
PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0169530 February 16, 2017
Research Article
PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0192791 February 15, 2018
Research Article
PLOS Medicine | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002374 August 8, 2017
New research explores the stress children in World Vision programmes in the Middle East and Eastern Europe region are under due to COVID-19. In addition to their fear that they themselves or their loved ones will catch the disease, children worry ab
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out economic hardships, the loss of their education, increased violence and social isolation. But in the midst of it all, a clear message comes through – young people are hopeful about the future, they want to make a contribution and they want their voices to be heard.
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I examine the effectiveness of donors in targeting the highest burden of malaria in the Democratic Republic of Congo when health information structure is fragmented. I exploit local variations in the burden of malaria induced by mining activities as well as financial and epidemiological data from he
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alth facilities to estimate how local aid is matching local health needs. Using a regression discontinuity design, I find significant but quantitatively small variations in aid to health facilities located within mining areas. Comparing local aid with the additional cost of treatment and prevention associated with the increased risk of malaria transmission, I find suggestive evidence that local populations with the highest burden of the disease receive a proportionately lower share of aid compared to neighbouring areas with reduced exposure to malaria infection. The evidence of disparities in the allocation of aid for malaria supports the view that donors may have inaccurate information about local population needs.
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Reflections from disability research using the ICF in Afghanistan and Cambodia | Working Paper Series: No. 11
Research results of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) prevention and response before, during and after disasters in Indonesia, Lao PDR and the Philippines
This report contributes new evidence on why and how sexual and gender-based violence
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(SGBV) risks increase during humanitarian disasters. It details how humanitarian actors can better prevent and respond to such escalation of SGBV, and better meet the needs of affected women, girls, men and boys. This research is based on community views of disaster-affected women, adolescent girls, men and adolescent boys in three South-East Asian countries: Indonesia, Lao PDR and the Philippines.
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Design Parameters and Construction Details
New research published today shows that older, disabled and injured Syrian refugees are paying a double toll as a result of the conflict. The report, released by Handicap International and HelpAge International, provides new data showing how much th
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ese vulnerable refugees are struggling to meet their specific needs
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Drugs, Diagnostics, Vaccines, Preventive Technologies, Research toward a cure, and immune-based and gene therapies in development
Research Article
BMC Infectious Diseases 2014, 14:91/1471-2334/14/91
Research Article
BMC Infectious Diseases 2012, 12:262; doi:10.1186/1471-2334-12-262