Prioritizing research areas for antibiotic stewardship programmes in hospitals: a behavioural perspective consensus...

Area of Science:

• Implementation Science
• Behavioral Science
• Antimicrobial Resistance

Background:

• Antibiotic stewardship programmes (ASPs) are crucial for judicious antibiotic use in hospitals.
• Behavioral science evidence is underutilized in current ASP research, particularly in high-income countries (HICs).
• Optimizing ASP implementation requires addressing individual, team, and policy-level behavioral changes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose research priority areas for optimizing effective implementation of hospital ASPs.
• To integrate behavioral science perspectives into antibiotic stewardship research.
• To guide future research and funding for enhancing ASP effectiveness.

Main Methods:

• A consensus procedure involving 18 clinical and academic specialists in antibiotic stewardship, implementation science, and behavior change.
• Experts from four HICs with publicly funded healthcare systems participated.
• A structured consensus method was used to identify and agree upon research priority areas.

Main Results:

• Ten research priority areas were identified to optimize ASP implementation in HICs.
• Recommendations include identifying barriers/facilitators, defining roles, synthesizing evidence, and evaluating ASPs.
• Specific focus on understanding patient perspectives and the impact of policy contexts on ASPs.

Conclusions:

• Regular assessment and updates of priority-setting exercises are recommended every two years.
• The methodology can be applied to propose research priorities in low- and middle-income countries.
• Urgent scientific interest and funding are needed to implement these evidence-guided research efforts.