Healthcare (Sep 2022)

Development and Implementation of an Antimicrobial Stewardship Checklist in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Co-Creation Consensus Approach

  • Diane Ashiru-Oredope,
  • Frances Garraghan,
  • Omotayo Olaoye,
  • Eva M. Krockow,
  • Ayodeji Matuluko,
  • Winnie Nambatya,
  • Peter Ahabwe Babigumira,
  • Chloe Tuck,
  • George Amofah,
  • Daniel Ankrah,
  • Scott Barrett,
  • Peter Benedict,
  • Kwame Peprah Boaitey,
  • Kwame Ohene Buabeng,
  • Sarah Cavanagh,
  • Esmita Charani,
  • Enock Chikatula,
  • Sam Ghebrehewet,
  • Jasmin Islam,
  • Yogini H. Jani,
  • Esther Johnston,
  • Mohammed Lamorde,
  • Augustine Malinga,
  • Mariyam Mirfenderesky,
  • Victoria Rutter,
  • Jacqueline Sneddon,
  • Richard Skone-James

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare10091706
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10, no. 9
p. 1706

Abstract

Read online

Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) initiatives promote the responsible use of antimicrobials in healthcare settings as a key measure to curb the global threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Defining the core elements of AMS is essential for developing and evaluating comprehensive AMS programmes. This project used co-creation and Delphi consensus procedures to adapt and extend the existing published international AMS checklist. The overall objective was to arrive at a contextualised checklist of core AMS elements and key behaviours for use within healthcare settings in Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as to implement the checklist in health institutions in four African countries. The AMS checklist tool was developed using a modified Delphi approach to achieve local expert consensus on the items to be included on the checklist. Fourteen healthcare/public health professionals from Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda, Ghana and the UK were invited to review, score and comment on items from a published global AMS checklist. Following their feedback, 8 items were rephrased, and 25 new items were added to the checklist. The final AMS checklist tool was deployed across 19 healthcare sites and used to assess AMS programmes before and after an AMS intervention in 14 of the 19 sites. The final tool comprised 54 items. Across the 14 sites, the completed checklists consistently showed improvements for all the AMS components following the intervention. The greatest improvements observed were the presence of formal multidisciplinary AMS structures (79%) and the execution of a point-prevalence survey (72%). The elements with the least improvement were access to laboratory/imaging services (7%) and the presence of adequate financial support for AMS (14%). In addition to capturing the quantitative and qualitative changes associated with the AMS intervention, project evaluation suggested that administering the AMS checklist made unique contributions to ongoing AMS activities. Furthermore, 29 additional AMS activities were reported as a direct result of the prompting checklist questions. Contextualised, co-created AMS tools are necessary for managing antimicrobial use across healthcare settings and increasing local AMS ownership and commitment. This study led to the development of a new AMS checklist, which proved successful in capturing AMS improvements in Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda, and Ghana. The tool also made unique contributions to furthering local AMS efforts. This study extends the existing AMS materials for low- and middle-income countries and provides empirical evidence for successful use in practice.

Keywords