November 12 | U.S. Antibiotic Awareness Week #USAAW18 #BeAntibioticsAware
Great Plains Quality Innovation Network – Nebraska kicked off Antibiotic Awareness Week by partnering with Nebraska healthcare leaders, Dr. Maureen Tierney and Dr. M. Salman Ashraf, to create an audio recording as well as a YouTube video for Antibiotic Stewardship. [Both are included/linked below].
- The audio recording is aimed toward healthcare professionals discussing what Nebraska is doing for antibiotic stewardship as well as statewide efforts to detect, contain and prevent the spread of resistant organisms. Strategies, resources and implementation guidelines for antibiotic stewardship implementation are also shared.
- The video is for the general public and describes what it means for an antibiotic to be resistant and strategies consumers can use to be good stewards.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O47ao2TTlQ8&w=560&h=315]
About Our Experts
Dr. Tierney is the Director of the HAI Program in the Epidemiology and Informatics Unit of the Nebraska Division of Public Health. Dr. Tierney is also an Adjunct Associated Professor at the College of Public Health, University of Nebraska School of Medicine.
Dr. Ashraf is the co-medical director of Nebraska ASAP (Antimicrobial Stewardship Assessment and Promotion Program). He is also medical director of Nebraska ICAP (Infection Control Assessment and Promotion Program) and an Associate Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC). Dr. Ashraf is board-certified in Internal Medicine, Geriatric Medicine and Infectious Diseases. His clinical and research interests include infections in the elderly and antimicrobial stewardship and infection control in long-term care facilities.
Antibiotic Awareness Week: Additional Ways to Participate
We encourage you to check out CDC’s Be Antibiotics Aware partner toolkit, which contains key messages, social media content, graphics and more.
Antibiotics are life-saving drugs and critical tools for treating infections, like those that can lead to sepsis. However, when antibiotics aren’t needed, they won’t help you, and the side effects could still cause harm. Additionally, any time antibiotics are used in people or animals, they can lead to antibiotic resistance. Everyone has a role to play to improve antibiotic prescribing and use, including you!
- Use and share Be Antibiotics Aware educational materials, including graphics for print and social media from CDC’s national educational effort to keep patients safe, decrease adverse drug events, and help fight antibiotic resistance.
- Make a commitment to The AMR Challenge. Join leaders worldwide to combat antibiotic resistance by improving antibiotic use, including ensuring access to these drugs globally.
- Join the Global Twitter Storm on Thurs., November 15 from 8 – 9 am (CT) using the hashtag #AntibioticResistance. Use social media to spark conversation throughout the week using #USAAW18 and #BeAntibioticsAware.
- Visit CDC’s Safe Healthcare Blog for new stories, including a recent post highlighting the Veterans Health Administration’s success in improving antibiotic prescribing for veterans.
This annual one-week observance helps raise awareness of the importance of appropriate antibiotic use to combat the threat of antibiotic resistance. Improving the way we prescribe and take antibiotics helps keep us healthy now, helps fight antibiotic resistance and ensures that these life-saving drugs will be available for future generations.
We look forward to collaborating with you to raise awareness about appropriate antibiotic prescribing and use and the threat of antibiotic resistance throughout Antibiotic Awareness Week!