The Burden of Antibiotic Resistance: Casual Social and Structural Factors

Abstract

Antibiotic resistance has become a global burden, affecting both highly developed and less developed countries. Resistance results in increased morbidity and mortality, especially in children under five. The principles of resistance are understood biologically but the social and structural factors that perpetuate it are far more complex and integrated on an individual, household and community level. The solution to combat resistance thus must be more than the continuous development and production of new antibiotics, which is quickly transitioning from a solution to a causal factor, and instead target behaviors and systems that promote resistance. This thesis investigates the causal social and structural factors of antibiotic resistance in the Andean Region of South America; geographically diverse though with limited research conducted on remote and rural communities. The main factors discussed within pertain to those that if enhanced or corrected, would begin to decrease the probability or minimize the spread of antibiotic resistance including sanitation and agricultural practice, strong community leadership in education, and improved communication and modes of surveillance.