What are school children in Europe being taught about hygiene and antibiotic use?

Abstract

e-Bug is a pan-European antibiotic and hygiene teaching resource that aims to reinforce awareness in school children of microbes, prudent antibiotic use, hygiene and the transmission of infection. Prior to the production of the resource, it was essential to examine the educational structure across each partner country and assess what school children were being taught on these topics. A questionnaire was devised for distribution to each European partner (Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, France, Greece, Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain), exploring their educational structure and examining educational resources or campaigns currently available. From the data collected it was evident that the majority of European schools have structured hand hygiene practices in place from a young age. The curricula in all countries cover the topic of human health and hygiene, but limited information is provided on antibiotics and their prudent use. School educational resources that link to the national curriculum and implement National Advice to the Public campaigns in the classroom are limited. The Microbes en question mobile health education campaign in France is an example of a successful children's education campaign and an innovative programme. Evaluation of the impact of school education on attitude and change of behaviour is also limited throughout many European countries. Not enough is currently being done across Europe to educate school children on the importance of appropriate antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance. The data from this research were used to develop e-Bug, a European Union-funded antibiotic and hygiene teaching resource.

How to educate prescribers in antimicrobial stewardship practices

“…Just as optimal periods and subjects have been identified to guarantee maximal exposure to children, 16 the undergraduate curriculum and internship/foundation year seem optimal stages to build a solid knowledge base for later practice. For example: surgeons will have a much higher acceptance of prophylaxis guidelines if they have been exposed to the principles of guideline development and antibiotic prophylaxis taught as core competencies in the third year of medical school.…”

“…Finally, the European Union-funded antibiotic and hygiene teaching resource e-Bug was developed in the UK as an initiative of the Health Protection Agency. In preparation of the program, Lecky et al examined the educational structure and educational resources or campaigns currently available by questionnaire in 10 European countries 16 . It appeared that the curricula in all countries covered the topic of human health and hygiene, but limited information was provided on antibiotics and their prudent use.…”

“…It appeared that the curricula in all countries covered the topic of human health and hygiene, but limited information was provided on antibiotics and their prudent use. The European educational structure from pre-primary through upper secondary indicated that the 9- to 11-year-old and 12- to 15-year-old age groups were the most appropriate to aim the e-Bug resource at, in order to teach all children within compulsory education 16 . In conclusion, such programs constitute an opportunity for instructing children and their parents on the use and non-use of antibiotics.…”

The effect of interactive digital storytelling gamification on microbiology classroom interactions

“…While interacting with the storytelling, the users are taught various learning objectives (see Figure I for an example of the learning objective integrated into the storytelling). The learning objectives covered in the game were based on the European curriculum aimed at secondary school children [32]. The learning objective integration has been done in collaboration with microbiology experts and biology teachers.…”

Evolving germs – Antibiotic resistance and natural selection in education and public communication

“…Thus, the biology course for years 7-9 should equip every Swedish school pupil with the knowledge necessary to deal with antibiotic resistance. The studies in this dissertation are situated in a Swedish context, but antibiotic resistance is also present in several other European curricula at both junior and senior levels (Lecky et al, 2011).…”