CALLING on everyone PASSIONATE ABOUT ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE (AMR)!
Do you have practical ideas for implementing effective antimicrobial stewardship programs in low- and middle-income countries?
What challenges did you encounter with your antimicrobial stewardship program, and how did you overcome those challenges?
What activities were key ingredients for the success of your stewardship program?
Open call details
The purpose of this open call is to identify and gather practices and practical tips related to antimicrobial stewardship programs in order to inform the development of a framework for implementing effective antimicrobial stewardship programs across primary healthcare settings in Nigeria.
Exceptional ideas will be recognized by the Alliance Against Antimicrobial Resistance, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and the Royal Society of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (RSTMH) and included in a practical guide. In addition, the selected finalists will be invited to join a consensus group to finalize the framework.
Do you have practical ideas for implementing effective antimicrobial stewardship programs in low- and middle-income countries? What challenges did you encounter with your antimicrobial stewardship program, and how did you overcome those challenges? What activities were key ingredients for the success of your stewardship program?
Background
While antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global priority, antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASP) have been widely commended and endorsed for addressing growing AMR. However, there is only limited guidance regarding how frameworks developed for high-income settings might be operationalized, but not in low- and middle-income (LMIC) settings. Engaging local stakeholders across LMICs in developing ASPs will include data from local contexts that can significantly favour implementation rates and sustainability in the long term. Based on this, we are using a community-engaged and participatory approach using a crowdsourcing open call and a modified Delphi method to develop a practical guide on ASPs for use across primary healthcare settings for use in Nigeria.
The final deadline for contributions is May 30th, 2024
Guidelines for Contribution
Format of your submission
We will accept submissions in the form of a written text (no more than 500 words) or a video/audio description (no more than 3 minutes long). Infographics or images can be included in the text or video.
You will be asked to select any of the following submission categories that may apply to your submission:
- Process evaluation or description: description and/or evaluation of a process or segment that was part of your stewardship program.
- Outcome evaluation: description and/or evaluation of the outcomes of your stewardship program.
- Strategy to organize a stewardship program: description and/or evaluation of strategies used to organize and sustain your stewardship program.
You may want to consider the following questions when preparing your submission:
- What practical advice do you have for organizing an effective antimicrobial stewardship program?
- How did you demonstrate the impact of the stewardship program using qualitative, quantitative, or other methods?
- What are ways that stewardship programs can go wrong and how can you prevent these things from happening?
- What are the enabling (or inhibiting) factors for a successful stewardship program and what did/can you do to address them?
- A successful example of an antimicrobial stewardship program in a low- and middle-income country.
Eligibility
Participants must be 18 years of age or older to participate. You may submit as an individual or as a group of up to four individuals. All submissions are welcome in English.
Judging Criteria
Submissions will be judged on a 1-10 scale (1 lowest quality, 10 highest quality) according to the following five criteria that will assess the process, outcomes, or strategies described:
- Relevance to the call: This refers to the alignment between your submission and the objective of this call, which is to identify practices and practical tips related to antimicrobial stewardship programs in LMICs.
- Clear description of ideas: This refers to how clearly and concisely your submission is described. We will assess how well the practices and ideas are articulated, ensuring that the information provided is easy to understand.
- Potential for enhancing AMR stewardship: This broadly refers to the effectiveness, quality, or influence that your shared ideas, practices, or experiences may have to promote the responsible use of antibiotics and improve patient outcomes.
- Innovation in resource constraint setting: This refers to the novelty of the submission in the context of resource limited settings. We would evaluate whether the suggested practices demonstrate adaptability and resourcefulness, making them effective within the constraints commonly faced in LMICs.
- Potential for implementation and sustainability: This means your submitted ideas or practices are organized in a way that is realistic and practical for implementation in the given context and also refers to how they could be replicated in other settings.
After screening for eligibility by the organizing committee, all the eligible entries will be assessed by independent judges. Each submission will be reviewed by at least three independent judges and final decisions will be made by the steering committee.
Please note that the organizing team may request further information from you about your idea as part of the open call vetting process.
Timeline
Deadline: May 30th, 2024
Judging: May – June 2024
Finalist Notifications: End of June 2024
Prizes
All participants who receive a mean score of 8/10 or greater on the 1-10 scale will receive a certificate of commendation. Themes from the submitted texts will be analyzed to inform the development of the antimicrobial stewardship framework with the partner organizations. Finally, selected individuals will be invited to join the working group that develops the framework.
We hosted an informational webinar on the 27th of April to talk more about the open call and to answer all your questions.
Global Steering Committee & Organizing Committee
Steering Committee
Pharm. Phumzile Skosana (South Africa), Pharm. Estelle Mbadiwe (Nigeria), Dr. Francesca Chiara (USA), Ms. Julian Nyamupachitu (Kenya), Dr. Eric Mugabo (Rwanda), Dr. Abiodun Egwuenu (Nigeria), Dr. Eneyi Kpokiri (UK), Yusuf Babatunde (Nigeria), Ms. Fowzia Mohamed (Kenya)
Organizing Committee
Yusuf Babatunde (NIgeria) Eneyi Kpokiri (United Kingdom), Ibrahim Abdulmumin (Nigeria), Moriam Adegbite (Nigeria), Oluwaseyi Egbewande (Nigeria), Naomi Chikezie (Nigeria), Warittha Tieosapjaroen (Australia), Oluwatoni Akinola (Nigeria), Latifah Abdulkarim (Nigeria), Wuraola Olabode (Nigeria)
FAQs:
1. Can I apply as an individual or a group?
You can submit an idea as an individual or on behalf of a group.
2. Why use a crowdsourcing open call?
Open calls have been widely used by governments, private foundations, and other organizations to improve mentorship initiatives and programs. Our experiences have demonstrated that challenge contests are a useful tool for soliciting innovative ideas for solving different problems. More details about open contests for health are available here.
3. Is there a limit to the number of contributions?
No, there is no limit.
4. What if I only have an idea and it hasn’t been implemented?
Yes! We encourage submission of evidence-based ideas or strategies regardless whether they have been implemented or not.
5. Does it cost me anything to participate?
Participation in the open call is free, with no purchase or payment obligation.
Enquiries
Contact the project coordinator, Yusuf Babatunde, at yusufbabs916@gmail.com
Partner Organizations
