Responsible Antibiotic Use in India

Since the invention of antibiotics a little over a century ago, bacteria-killing drugs have become one of the most important tools in healthcare. Infections that were once death sentences are now able to be cured with just a few doses. However, the effectiveness of antibiotics is quickly diminishing as bacteria grow resistant to the medication and superbugs resistant to multiple antibiotics emerge. India, in particular, has become a hotspot for antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Over the course of just 5 years, the common bacteria pneumoniae and E. Coli's susceptibility to antibiotic imipenem decreased by 22%. In 2019, 4.95 million deaths in India were associated with resistant infections, and 1.27 million were directly caused by it. These statistics are correlated to the rate of consumption of antibiotics in the country. In 2019, the country used a whopping 12.9 billion units of antibiotics, far exceeding the per capita global rate. These infographics aim to educate patients and providers on how to use and prescribe antibiotics responsibly.

Artist

Sanjana Singh (2024)

Artist Lens

I decided to create two educational materials for my project: an infographic targeting healthcare providers in private hospitals and a flyer to be distributed to patients and the general public in the same healthcare facilities’ waiting rooms. Together, these materials are meant to educate providers and the public about why AMR is something to be concerned about and how many common practices in the country, like overprescription, self-prescription, and unfinished courses of antibiotics, contribute to the problem. 

Both of the educational materials include specific design elements influenced by their target audiences. I wanted the flyer to be fun and eye-catching so that people in waiting rooms would choose willingly to read it. The vision I had for distribution is to have it on tables in the waiting room as reading during long wait times. The material on it is supposed to encourage good antibiotic consumer habits and is not very data-driven. The infographic has a much more minimalistic design that is meant to display a level of professionalism. While both materials are meant to educate about the same issue, the information that is included in each is vastly different. The infographic is filled with statistics and discusses AMR at a higher level. I envisioned the infographic as not only educating physicians who are not aware of the issue, but also reminding those who know about resistance of the severity and duty they have to the public to follow the practices that I outline at the end of the infographic. I tried to focus on including educational information as well as action items. While it is important for people to learn why this is an issue to inspire change in their behavior, it is also important that people understand what changes can be made in their habits. Both materials walk through background information as well as recommendations for behavior.

Media

Digital

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