Antimicrobial stewardship in low- and middle-income countries: Access versus adherence
by Kiarah Shchepanik, Anthony D. Bai, Heather Wise Can improving access to antimicrobial guidelines improve prescriber adherence? In a recent study published in PLOS Medicine (the LAMPA trial), a smartphone app did not improve adherence despite enhanced access to guidelines, highlighting that prescriber behavior is complex, and effective antimicrobial stewardship interventions need to be…
The low adherence to antimicrobial guidelines, despite their availability in Lao hospitals, raises questions about the effectiveness of smartphone-based dissemination as a standalone strategy. The Lao AntiMicrobial Prescribing Application (LAMPA) trial investigated the impact of combining national guidelines with a smartphone application and a single antimicrobial stewardship training session.
However, the study found that this intervention did not significantly improve adherence to guidelines. This suggests that simply making guidelines accessible through technology is not enough to change prescriber behavior. Effective antimicrobial stewardship requires more than just guideline availability; it needs a multifaceted approach that includes ongoing education, clinician engagement, and continuous reinforcement to encourage doctors to rely on evidence-based practices rather than relying on their clinical experience and established prescribing habits.
Written by urgent.news from PLOS Medicine's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
