One of the first studies in the UK into what life is like for people living with antibiotic resistant infections is being carried out by a De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) academic.
Dr Ryan Hamilton, who is senior lecturer in pharmacy at DMU and lead pharmacist for infectious diseases at Kettering General Hospital, hopes to find out what impact the diagnosis has upon people’s daily lives and particularly their wellbeing and what support they need.
Antimicrobial resistant infections are now a leading cause of death globally, with more than 1.2 million people dying every year – a figure that is predicted to rise to 10 million by the year 2050. However, not enough is known about how a diagnosis of AMR affects people, and the support available from healthcare professionals outside of hospital.
“The more we use antibiotics, the more resistant to these treatments microbes become, and eventually standard antibiotics do not have the desired impact, benefit for patients” said Dr Hamilton.
“This means we need to use more intravenous antibiotics, which are also more harmful to our patients without a guarantee of a cure.”
“Although we know that the number of people infected with, or carrying, an antimicrobial resistance microbe is on the rise, we don’t know how the diagnosis affects them once they are out of hospital and back at home. We want to carry out in depth interviews to really delve into how it affects their daily lives, what concerns they have, if it impacts on their mental health and their wellbeing.
“The findings of this research will provide invaluable information for health professionals who care for people with AMR infections and will enable the development of patient-informed support materials.”
The research has been funded by the organisation Antibiotic Research UK (ANTRUK) as part of a £200,000 pot of money to fund new work into antibiotic resistance.
In February 2019, ANTRUK launched the world’s first patient support service to help people suffering from antimicrobial resistant infections, people with chronic resistance and their carers. The number of people contacting the service for help has grown every month since its inception.
Posted on Thursday 10 February 2022