RESUMO
The 2015 Global action plan on antimicrobial resistance (GAP-AMR) highlights the key importanceof improving awareness and understanding of antimicrobial resistance among consumers. Whilelow levels of awareness are not exclusive to consumers in low- and middle-income countries, thechallenges to improving understanding are compounded in these settings, by factors such as higherrates of antibiotic self-medication and availability through informal suppliers. In 2016, Thailand setan ambitious target to increase, by 2021, public knowledge of antibiotic resistance and awareness ofappropriate use of antibiotic by 20%. This involved first establishing baseline data by incorporatinga module on antibiotic awareness into the 2017 national Health and Welfare Survey conducted bythe National Statistical Office. The benefit of this approach is that the data from the antibiotic moduleare collected in parallel with data on socioeconomic, demographic and geospatial parameters thatcan inform targeted public communications. The module was developed by review of existing toolsthat have been used to measure public awareness of antibiotics, namely those of the Eurobarometerproject of the European Union and a questionnaire developed by the World Health Organization.The Thai module was constructed in such a way that results could be benchmarked against thoseof the other survey tools, to allow international comparison. The Thai experience showed that closecollaboration between the relevant national authorities allowed smooth integration of a module onantibiotic awareness into the national household survey. To date, evidence from the module hasinformed the content and strategy of public communications on antibiotic use and misuse. Work isunder way to select the most robust indicators to use in monitoring progress. The other Member Statesof the World Health Organization South-East Asia Region can benefit from Thailand’s experiences inimprovement of monitoring population knowledge and awareness.
