Perceptions about antibiotic resistance

Rob Brewer, flickr,com

Antibiotic resistance? Sorry, not my problem is a piece recently published in The Conversation by Amanda McCullough, Chris Del Mar and Tammy Hoffman from Bond University.  The authors discuss doctors' and patients' perceptions and understanding of antibiotic resistance and how, although it is widely recognised as a problem, very few people take individual responsibility for prescribing or consuming antibiotics.

This article refers to a paper published earlier this week in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy by the same authors. In that article, A systematic review of the public's knowledge and beliefs about antibiotic resistance, they conclude that the public has an "incomplete understanding of antibiotic resistance and misperceptions about it and its causes and do not believe they contribute to its development".

J. Antimicrob. Chemother. (2015)doi: 10.1093/jac/dkv310First published online: October 12, 2015.  Contact your health library for the full text of this article.