Contribution of behavioural science to antibiotic stewardship

The prospect of a world without effective antibiotics has galvanised public and professional opinion on the need to conserve our precious, shared resource of effective antimicrobials.1 Unfortunately, how to do this most effectively is far from clear. Just as with climate change, the threat seems for most people to be largely societal and in the future—exemplifying the so called “tragedy of the commons” (where individual action to maximise personal benefit results in harm to the interests of the population as a whole2). While many people are already experiencing the negative consequences of antimicrobial resistance, taking remedial action has perceived adverse consequences now, with many patients wanting the strongest possible antibiotic to cure their current infection.

Antimicrobial stewardship programmes have been designed to promote the most effective use of antimicrobials by limiting overuse, underuse, or misuse. In the UK, example programmes include the TARGET toolkit for primary care3 and the “start smart then focus” programme for secondary care.4