Ms Kathryn Lim1, Ms Kristen Overton2, Professor Alex Broom3, Associate Professor Holly Seale1
1School of Population Health, University Of New South Wales, , Australia
2Centre for Social Research in Health, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of New South Wales, , Australia
3School of Social and Political Sciences, The University of Sydney, , Australia
Methods: A range of search terms were used to review key Australian pharmacy publications, locating 251 articles for analysis. Content analysis was conducted using a coding framework which identified seven key themes of interest.
Results: Most publications featured excerpts of research publications and published reports. Clinicians and the pharmaceutical industry were described as the main contributors to AMR development. Description of the breadth of pharmacists’ contribution to AMS was often segmented by place of practice. Pharmacists practising in the community setting appeared to have a narrower AMS role compared to those in hospitals and residential aged care facilities. Few references were made to the positive links between pharmacists’ current activities in preventing and controlling infections to reducing AMR.
Conclusion: Media characterisation of the perceived constraints of pharmacists’ place of practice on their participation in AMS may have a negative effect on pharmacists’ future engagement with the issue. There is also an opportunity to increase media coverage on the positive linkages between existing pharmacy services, such as vaccinations, to broader AMS efforts.
Background: Media representation of public health issues can shape knowledge and behaviour. This includes health professionals, with the nature and extent of their engagement with key health issues, such as reducing antimicrobial resistance (AMR), potentially influenced by media content. As a foundational step to understanding the influence of media content on pharmacists’ behaviour relating to antimicrobial stewardship (AMS), this study explored content inclusions relating to AMR and AMS in pharmacy focussed professional publications.
Biography: Kathryn Lim is a PhD Candidate in the School of Population Health at the University of New South Wales in Australia. Her research is focused on exploring pharmacists’ involvement and contribution to antimicrobial stewardship in Australia, with an interest in how policy and interprofessional practice shapes this. Kathryn has a strong interest in public health policy, informed by her professional training as a pharmacist, and further qualifications in public health and international public health.