Human resources required for antimicrobial stewardship teams: a Dutch consensus report

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Infectious Disease Control
• Public Health Policy

Background:

• Antimicrobial stewardship programmes (ASP) are crucial for combating antimicrobial resistance.
• Funding limitations pose a significant challenge to the effective implementation of ASPs globally.
• Dutch stewardship teams face obligations to implement ASPs despite resource constraints.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the essential structural activities for Dutch antimicrobial stewardship teams.
• To estimate the required human resources, expressed as full-time equivalent (FTE) labor, for these activities.
• To provide a basis for financial support and resource allocation for stewardship teams.

Main Methods:

• A consensus procedure involving Dutch stewardship teams was employed.
• An electronic survey was distributed to 21 stewardship teams, with 14 completing it (18% of Dutch acute-care hospitals).
• A semistructured face-to-face consensus meeting was conducted with 13 participating teams.

Main Results:

• Annual time investment ranges from 1393 to 2680 hours (0.87 to 1.68 FTE) in the initial phase for minimal staffing and one objective.
• Time investment increases to 1.25 to 3.18 FTE in subsequent years with three stewardship objectives.
• Required hours are dependent on hospital size and the number of monitored stewardship objectives.

Conclusions:

• The study provides a consensus on the human resources needed for antimicrobial stewardship teams in the Netherlands.
• Findings can guide structural financial support for stewardship teams.
• The methodology can be adapted to establish standards for stewardship activities in other national and hospital settings.