Organization and training at national level of antimicrobial stewardship and infection control activities in Europe : an ESCMID cross-sectional survey
Abstract
Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) and Infection prevention and control (IPC) are two key complementary strategies that combat development and spread of antimicrobial resistance. The ESGAP (ESCMID Study Group for AMS), EUCIC (European Committee on Infection Control) and TAE (Trainee Association of ESCMID) investigated how AMS and IPC activities and training are organized, if present, at national level in Europe. From February 2018 to May 2018, an internet-based cross-sectional survey was conducted through a 36-item questionnaire, involving up to three selected respondents per country, from 38 European countries in total (including Israel), belonging to the ESGAP/EUCIC/TAE networks. All 38 countries participated with at least one respondent, and a total of 81 respondents. Education and involvement in AMS programmes were mandatory during the postgraduate training of clinical microbiology and infectious diseases specialists in up to one-third of countries. IPC was acknowledged as a specialty in 32% of countries. Only 32% of countries had both guidance and national requirements regarding AMS programmes, in contrast to 61% for IPC. Formal national staffing standards for AMS and IPC hospital-based activities were present in 24% and 63% of countries, respectively. The backgrounds of professionals responsible for AMS and IPC programmes varied tremendously between countries. The organization and training of AMS and IPC in Europe are heterogeneous and national requirements for activities are frequently lacking.
Citation
Maraolo , A E , Ong , D S Y , Cimen , C , Howard , P , Kofteridis , D P , Schouten , J , Mutters , N T , Pulcini , C & ESGAP-EUCIC-TAE Working Group on AMS/IPC mapping in Europe 2019 , ' Organization and training at national level of antimicrobial stewardship and infection control activities in Europe : an ESCMID cross-sectional survey ' , European Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases , vol. First Online . https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-019-03648-2
Publication
European Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0934-9723Type
Journal article
Rights
© The Author(s) 2019. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
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