Enhancing community one health engagement for antimicrobial resistance

Funded by:

This project was to address the misuse of antibiotics and test the feasibility of education materials in improving parents’ knowledge on antibiotics use and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Nam Dinh Province.

The project had 2 phases.

First phase – Raising awareness

Key activities of this phase included:

Two consultations with parents of preschool children

We selected this group because children under 5 years old experience the highest burden of infectious diseases, and parents would be highly receptive to improving their understanding to provide the best care for their children.

Through these initial consultations, we explored current knowledge and perceptions around illness, care-seeking, and the role of antibiotics, as well as any gaps in knowledge.

Designed a set of posters and flashcards
Organised health promotion events
Feedback through focus group discussions (FGD)
Evaluated change in knowledge through pre-post and post-3-month surveys.

2nd phase – Photovoice

The funding continued to support the extension of the AMR Photovoice study, which worked with two groups of women and two groups of farmers to explore the use and understanding of antibiotics. Each group compiled photos and narratives that they curated as a group.

Then they held exhibitions of their photo stories to share with the wider community and raise awareness about AMR. More than 1000 participants attended community exhibitions. You can visit the virtual exhibition here.

To gather feedback, we had a graffiti wall at exhibitions and community meetings with participants and local stakeholders to discuss learnings and what could be done better in the future.