Thank you, Neil and Mouz. I am commenting on the point 'For myriad reasons, health care providers may default on following the guidelines for the prescription of antimicrobials, despite their knowledge about AMR and the availability of these guidelines...'
This is indeed an interesting point which is complex and driven by contextual factors. An angle is that health workers may default on following set guidelines for the prescription of antimicrobials because they believe this will lead to better health outcomes for their patients (at least in the short term). For example, health workers may disregard guidelines about giving treatment for malaria only after a positive RDT because they don't trust that RDTs are accurate and prefer to rely on their clinical judgement. Another scenario is where a health worker is not sure patients will return for further evaluation if their condition gets worse. For example, a viral respiratory infection in a child who lives in a remote location in a LMIC which may eventually get superimposed with a bacterial infection needing antibiotics. Some questions to ponder on are how can health workers be supported to navigate such circumstances and how can their trust in diagnostic processes or guidelines be enhanced?
HIFA profile: Kemi Akagwu is the Online Platforms Manager at JHU, CCP, in Nigeria. Professional interests: Capacity strengthening, Social & Behaviour Change, RMNCH, HIV/AIDS. oakagwu AT gmail.com
