What’s in a prescription? A social innovation approach to antimicrobial use and resistance.

The WHO has recognized Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as of one of the top ten threats to global health and the economy. While potential solutions to AMR are complex and span multiple dimensions, understanding of the local contexts in which policies are implemented and new technologies are used are often overlooked.

This project takes a social innovation approach to investigate how individual and organizational factors can help, or hinder, tackling AMR. Very little is known about AMR amongst the socially excluded in developed countries (e.g. migrants, ethnic minorities, indigenous communities, disabled and unemployed individuals) and developing countries where additional complications are expected in areas with poor sanitation such as favelas. To date, misaligned incentives have slowed the development of novel antimicrobials and limited efforts to reduce antimicrobial usage. Studies are thus needed to understand the political, cultural, economic, and behavioural context for AMR technology and policy introduction.

Analogous to the process by which entrepreneurs gain and maintain legitimacy such as, telling and adapting compelling stories, complying with religious ethics, etc., we argue that AMR solutions cannot be set in motion on their own and this is where social innovation becomes critical. From the marginalized corner of civil society, we draw inspiration from ReAct Latin America which created a dialogue among stakeholders through art. They rooted their approach on holistic cultural solutions to address the interconnected relationship of bacteria and humans to help policy makers gather new insights on AMR awareness where words fail before.