A social marketing campaign on antibiotic resistance prevention targeting healthcare professionals and the general public

Drawing in particular on the 2019 perception and knowledge surveys and the behavioral science studies conducted in 2021, Santé publique France is launching its first social marketing campaign on the prevention of antibiotic resistance in 2022. This campaign targets both healthcare professionals and the general public.

For healthcare professionals, the goal is to promote existing tools (HAS recommendations, non-prescription orders, rapid throat swab tests for strep throat, promotion of Antibioclic, etc.) to help them prescribe antibiotics judiciously.

For the general public, the message is highly educational and aims to clearly explain how antibiotics work. The tools link to antibiomalin.fr, a dedicated website on the proper use of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance, whose content has been revised and expanded. Ultimately, the goal is for Antibiomalin to become the go-to website for the general public on this topic.

The rollout of this first campaign will be followed by an evaluation, the results of which will shape the action plan and timeline for the second phase of communication—which will focus more on a collective effort to protect the effectiveness of antibiotics and combat antibiotic resistance—by 2025.

Collaborations with professional societies and associations (particularly those of physicians, dentists, and pharmacists) will continue. Similarly, close collaborations with the National Health Insurance, which leads or co-leads several initiatives under the 2022–2025 National Strategy for the Prevention of Healthcare-Associated Infections and Antibiotic Resistance, will be maintained.

“One Health” summary report compiling an overview of prevention initiatives and available surveillance data in France regarding human health, animal health, and the environment

As part of the efforts undertaken in France to raise awareness among professionals and the general public, since 2014, a summary document has been published annually jointly by Santé publique France and the National Agency for Medicines and Health Products Safety (ANSM), compiling data on recent trends in bacterial resistance to antibiotics and antibiotic consumption in France in human health. Since 2016, the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) has contributed to this document, which has since reported the latest French data on antibiotic resistance and antibiotic consumption in animal health. It is therefore part of the “One Health” global health approach promoted by the WHO and carried forward by the interministerial “Antibiotic Resistance” task force, which was implemented in late 2015 following the report titled “Together, Let’s Save Antibiotics!” Antibiotic prescription indicators, derived from the monitoring of the Public Health Objective-Based Remuneration (ROSP) system administered by the French Health Insurance Fund, have enriched this document since 2017, along with preventive measures. Since 2019, the summary has highlighted prevention initiatives in each of the three health domains: human health, animal health, and ecosystem health.

This initiative complements France’s efforts as part of the “European Antibiotic Awareness Day,” centered on the message “antibiotics only when necessary,” which was launched on November 18, 2008, by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). This annual event aims to raise awareness among healthcare professionals and the general public about the risks associated with the overuse or inappropriate use of antibiotics. Since 2015, it has been part of World Antibiotic Awareness Week.

National initiatives for the prevention of healthcare-associated infections and antibiotic resistance 

Santé publique France also carries out prevention initiatives aimed at reducing the incidence of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). Following a call for proposals, the Cross-Functional Support Mission for the Prevention of Healthcare-Associated Infections (MATIS) was entrusted to the Cpias Nouvelle-Aquitaine and the Guadeloupe Islands. This support mission works in collaboration with the other Cpias; it creates and shares prevention tools for healthcare facilities in the form of toolkits (hand hygiene, fecal contamination, etc.).

MATIS is a support mission for the four other national missions and supports HAI prevention initiatives aimed at target audiences, through the deployment of assessment, training, communication, and documentation tools.

It is implemented regionally by all CPias.

The SPARES and PRIMO initiatives also aim to prevent HAIs and RATB across the three healthcare sectors, in addition to their surveillance functions.

All tools, the surveillance hubs of the various national missions, and information on participation in national campaigns are available on the website of the Healthcare-Associated Infection Prevention Network (RéPIAS).

• Learn more: RéPIAS