Story Bug - your story of antibiotic resistance V1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Story Bug - your story of antibiotic resistance (telling stories of personal experiences of antibiotic resistance to help improve communication of the concepts of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to the public)
IRAS ID
320334
Contact name
Becky McCall
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
UCL
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 8 months, 1 days
Research summary
-Antibiotics have been a mainstay of medicine since the discovery of the first antibiotic, penicillin, in 1928. The subsequent development of antibiotics to treat infection has underpinned much of the routine surgery and medical practice we receive today, e.g. cancer operations and chemotherapy, Caesarean sections, and treatment of mild to serious respiratory diseases, to name a few. Many diseases and surgical procedures would be too dangerous without antibiotics.
-However, bacteria naturally develop resistance, and this is accelerated by overuse and mis-use of antibiotics. This means that an increasing number of diseases – caused by resistant bacteria – are untreatable, with potentially fatal consequences. Indeed, around 1.2m deaths occur each year due to antimicrobial resistance globally.
-With very few new antibiotics being developed, there needs to be greater understanding on how to control the use of those antibiotics that still work. Changing prescribing practices is one part of the solution, but communicating the right, constructive messages around antibiotic use and the development of antibiotic resistance and making those message real and relevant is important too.
-This project comprises a 2-day workshop or one-to-one digital storytelling (DST) production process with 5-6 people, or a close relative's experience of AMR. After stories have been created and the process evaluated via discussion with storytellers, the digital stories (4-5 min duration) will be screened to a small gathering of new participants who will discuss the meaning and impact of these stories with respect to AMR. The discussion will be recorded and will provide research data for analysis for Becky McCall's (BM) PhD project. With storyteller permission, digital stories might be made available to any patient organisations or NHS Trusts who aided recruitment.
REC name
West of Scotland REC 5
REC reference
23/WS/0059
Date of REC Opinion
5 Apr 2023
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion