What factors in the workplace enable success in antimicrobial stewardship in paediatric intensive care? (2 February 2024)

Summary

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major global health problem. Efforts to mitigate AMR prioritise antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) interventions. These interventions typically focus on deficiencies in practice and providing negative or normative feedback. This approach may miss opportunities to learn from success. Authors aimed to identify factors that enable success in AMS practices in the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) by analysing the data obtained from interviews with staff members who had achieved success in AMS.

The insights gained in this study originate from frontline staff who were interviewed about successful work-as-done. This strengths-based approach is an understudied area of healthcare, and therefore offers authentic intelligence which may be leveraged to effect tangible improvement changes. The methodology is not limited to AMS and could be applied to a wide range of healthcare settings.