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Célleri-Gomezcoello A, Avila C, Alessio S, Hanson CM, Ochoa A, Mora M, Arciniegas L, Holloway B, Pränting M, Encalada D. Impact of the ´Alforja Educativa' on Ecuadorian schoolchildren's knowledge of bacteria, antibiotics, and antibiotic resistance, a pretest-posttest study. BMC Public Health 2024; 24:844. [PMID: 38500082 PMCID: PMC10949744 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-18340-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2023] [Accepted: 03/12/2024] [Indexed: 03/20/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Widespread use of antibiotics disrupts the balance in the microbial world and promotes development and spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria. Educational initiatives are important as part of strategies to mitigate antibiotic resistance. The Alforja Educativa is an innovative educational program developed in Ecuador with the aim to teach schoolchildren about antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance. The program places antibiotic resistance within a broader frame of health, well-being, and ecological awareness, highlighting the importance to maintain balance in the microbial world. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the Alforja Educativa on knowledge about bacteria, antibiotics and antibiotic resistance amongst fifth and sixth grade Ecuadorian schoolchildren. METHODS This pretest-posttest intervention study was conducted between April and June 2017 and comprised fifth and sixth grade schoolchildren from 20 schools in Cuenca, Ecuador, recruited by purposeful sampling. The Alforja Educativa was implemented over twelve 80-minute sessions by trained university students. Schoolchildren's knowledge was assessed before and after participation in the educational program using a structured questionnaire. A mean total score, the proportion of correct responses for each individual knowledge-based question, as well as correct responses for each of the multiple-choice options of the knowledge-based questions were calculated for the pretest and posttest. RESULTS A total of 1,257 schoolchildren participated in the Alforja Educativa program, of which 980 (78%) completed both the pretest and posttest. Overall, the mean total knowledge score increased from pretest to posttest (2.58/7.00 vs. 3.85/7.00; CI = 0.5, p < 0.001). After participation in the program, the proportion of schoolchildren that correctly identified that bacteria can be both good and bad increased from 35.0 to 84.3%. In addition, scores increased for correctly identifying the meaning of antibiotic resistance (37.4-72.0%); how to prevent antibiotic resistance (63.2-74.6%); and for identifying the meaning of self-medication (46.3-54.3%). CONCLUSION The Alforja Educativa was effective in improving the knowledge of participating schoolchildren about concepts related to bacteria, antibiotics and antibiotic resistance. The holistic perspective taken to explain the complex relationship between humans and bacteria, as well as the effect of antibiotics on the microbial world, may help provide a foundation for more sustainable antibiotic use.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Caroline Avila
- Universidad del Azuay, Av. 24 de Mayo 7-77, Cuenca, 010107, Ecuador
| | - Silvina Alessio
- ReAct Latin America, Fundación Niño a Niño, Tomás Ordóñez 9-18 y Simón Bolívar, Cuenca, 010101, Ecuador
| | - Celina M Hanson
- ReAct Europe, Department of Medical Sciences, Uppsala University, Box 256, Uppsala, 751 05, Sweden
| | - Andrea Ochoa
- Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Católica de Cuenca, Av. de las Américas y Humboldt, Cuenca, 010105, Ecuador
| | - Miriann Mora
- Universidad del Azuay, Av. 24 de Mayo 7-77, Cuenca, 010107, Ecuador
| | | | - Bronwen Holloway
- ReAct Europe, Department of Medical Sciences, Uppsala University, Box 256, Uppsala, 751 05, Sweden
| | - Maria Pränting
- ReAct Europe, Department of Medical Sciences, Uppsala University, Box 256, Uppsala, 751 05, Sweden.
| | - Daniela Encalada
- Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Católica de Cuenca, Av. de las Américas y Humboldt, Cuenca, 010105, Ecuador
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Xu S, Martinez LR, Van Hoof H, Eljuri MI, Arciniegas L. Fluctuating emotions: relating emotional variability and job satisfaction. J Appl Soc Psychol 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/jasp.12390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Shi Xu
- School of Hospitality Management; The Pennsylvania State University
| | | | - Hubert Van Hoof
- School of Hospitality Management; The Pennsylvania State University
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