Top picks: Key resources on antimicrobial resistance

Summary

At Patient Safety Learning we believe that sharing insights and learning is vital to improving outcomes and reducing harm. That’s why we created the hub; providing a space for people to come together and share their experiences, resources and good practice examples.

To mark World Antimicrobial Awareness Week, which takes place every year in November, we’ve selected 18 resources related to antimicrobial resistance. Shared with us by hub members and patient safety advocates, they provide valuable insights and practical guidance about AMR.

Content

1 Global antibiotic resistance surveillance report 2025

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing threat to global health, undermining the effectiveness of life-saving treatments and placing populations at heightened risk, whether from common infections or routine medical interventions. This new World Health Organization (WHO) report presents a global analysis of antibiotic resistance prevalence and trends, drawing on more than 23 million bacteriologically confirmed cases of bloodstream infections, urinary tract infections, gastrointestinal infections, and urogenital gonorrhoea. 

2 Short-term intermittent IV antibiotics – Understanding the issue of under delivery

In this blog, Claire Davies, Clinical Therapy Manager at B. Braun Medical Ltd., explores the issue of under delivery and provides essential insights for clinicians to optimise their antibiotic therapy.

3 Tackling antibiotic underdosing: Interview with Ruth Dando, Head of Nursing for Theatres, Critical Care and Anaesthetics at BHRUHT

In this video interview, Ruth Dando, Head of Nursing, Theatres, Critical Care and Anaesthetics at Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals Trust (BHRUHT) explains why antibiotic underdosing is a risk to patient safety and describes how she has implemented a change in practice to tackle the issue across BHRUHT.

4 Tackling antimicrobial resistance: How to keep antibiotics working for the next century

The first WISH report on antimicrobial resistance, 'Antimicrobial Resistance: In search of a collaborative solution', was published in 2013. This report takes stock of what has emerged from the United Nations (UN) General Assembly High-Level Meeting on tackling AMR and makes six recommendations.

5 Silent Pandemic – The global fight against antimicrobial resistance (film)

The film Silent Pandemic shows how countries, scientists and private initiatives around the world are networking and forming alliances, and what strategies and measures they are using to counter the advance of antibiotic resistance.

6 Why won’t my doctor give me antibiotics? Ron Daniels explains

Ron Daniels, a Consultant in Critical Care, Vice President of the Global Sepsis Alliance and Chief Medical Officer of the United Kingdom Sepsis Trust, explains why doctors have to carefully manage the use of antibiotics in order to protect patients, now and in the future. 

7 My involvement with Commonwealth Partnerships for Antimicrobial Stewardship Scheme (CwPAMS) in Zambia

In this blog, Fiona Rees, who worked in the NHS as a hospital pharmacist for 13 years, shares her experience of working with colleagues in Zambia to improve the use of antimicrobials by using the expertise of pharmacists to help tackle AMR.

8 Reform - Powering the UK's approach to AMR: the future of AMR policy

This report draws on the expert input of a roundtable held by public service think tank Reform in October 2022, to assess progress made against proposals published by Reform in 2020. It recommends actions for NHS England, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and public health departments to address the threat of AMR.

9 Antimicrobial resistance survivors: calling the world to action

This Lancet article was written by a group of AMR survivors and their caregivers in order to share individual stories and perspectives on the impact of AMR. The authors highlight challenges in raising the profile of AMR, including insufficient funding, research, motivation and knowledge. They also call for meaningful patient engagement in the AMR agenda.

10 WHO: How vaccines can help prevent antibiotic resistance – Zimbabwe’s response to drug resistant outbreaks of typhoid and cholera

This case study focuses on large outbreaks of antibiotic resistant strains of both cholera and typhoid in Zimbabwe and the steps taken to tackle them. It looks at a mass typhoid Vi-conjugate vaccine (TCV) vaccination campaign from February to March 2019 in nine suburbs of Harare that were severely affected by the outbreaks.

11 British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy: Antimicrobial stewardship: From principles to practice

This e-book provides an extensive overview of the day-to-day challenges posed by AMR, tools for setting up stewardship programmes and guidance on how to make the most of existing programmes. Its resources apply the principles of antimicrobial stewardship to a wide range of professions, populations and clinical/care settings.

12 How antibiotic underdosing affected my mum’s end of life care: An interview with Ashleigh Hughes

In this interview, senior sister Ashleigh Hughes shares her personal story about the impact of antibiotic underdosing on her Mum’s end of life care. Antibiotic underdosing is a medication safety issue that has profound implications for the health service as well as individual patients, but there is currently a lack of understanding and recognition of the issue.

13 Strengthening primary health care-oriented health systems to address antimicrobial resistance: policy brief

WHO policy brief on antimicrobial resistance with an emphasis on primary care. It is noted that ‘Most patient interactions occur in primary care and in the community, where an estimated 80–90% of antibiotics are prescribed. Effective primary care plays a vital role in improving the management of infectious diseases and in reducing overuse and inappropriate use of antibiotics, thus slowing the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and ensuring the continued effectiveness of antimicrobials.’

14 Reducing hospitalizations and multidrug-resistant organisms via regional decolonisation in hospitals and nursing homes

Infections due to multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) are associated with increased morbidity, mortality, length of hospitalisation, and health care costs. Regional interventions may be advantageous in mitigating MDROs and associated infections. This study evaluated whether implementation of a decolonisation collaborative is associated with reduced regional MDRO prevalence, incident clinical cultures, infection-related hospitalisations, costs, and deaths.

15 What factors in the workplace enable success in antimicrobial stewardship in paediatric intensive care?

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. In this study, the 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.

16 WHO: The case for investment and action in infection prevention and control

Infections acquired in health care settings, including those antimicrobial resistant, cause tremendous suffering to patients, families and health workers and pose a high burden on health systems. Most of these infections are preventable with appropriate infection prevention and control (IPC) programmes and practices and basic water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services. This WHO document provides the evidence on the expected return in investment in and guidance for implementing and monitoring the WHO global action plan on IPC at the country level.

17 NHS England: Digital vision for antimicrobial stewardship in England

Effectively tackling the challenge of AMR requires a co-ordinated and strategic approach across healthcare settings. Antimicrobial stewardship is an important element of this work. This publication outlines the functionalities that clinical digital systems need to support optimal antimicrobial stewardship  in primary and secondary care. 

18 Putting patients at the centre of antimicrobial stewardship in Uganda: Why meaningful patient engagement is essential to beating antimicrobial resistance

Although antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) has traditionally focused on prescribers, laboratories and health facilities, evidence from Uganda demonstrates a critical reality: a large proportion of antibiotic use occurs at community and household level. Without engaging patients and communities as partners, stewardship efforts remain incomplete and unsustainable. Annet Naguudi, Regina Kamoga and Joshua Wamboga from the Uganda Alliance of Patients’ Organizations (UAPO) argue that strengthening AMS in Uganda requires placing patients at the centre of the response and highlights the strategic positioning of the UAPO to lead this shift in line with national and global priorities.

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