OECD Health Policy Studies Embracing a One Health Framework to Fight Antimicrobial Resistance


Book Description

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) – the ability of microbes to resist antimicrobials – remains an alarming global health threat. This report identifies 11 One Health “best buys” that, if implemented systematically, would improve population health, reduce health expenditure and generate positive returns for the economy.




Challenges to Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance


Book Description

An accessible overview of the challenges in tackling AMR, and the economic and policy responses of the 'One Health' approach. It will appeal to policy-makers seeking to strengthen national and local polices tackling AMR, as well as students and academics who want an overview of the latest scientific evidence regarding effective AMR policies.




Infection prevention and control in-service education and training curriculum


Book Description

The primary objective of this curriculum is to equip health and care workers with the essential knowledge and competencies necessary for delivering safe and effective care. By doing so it aims to significantly reduce HAIs and combat antimicrobial resistance, thereby safeguarding both patient and HCWs well-being. This curriculum is developed to meet the needs of IPC professionals responsible for developing learning resources and overseeing training within health care organizations. Moreover, the curriculum is intended to encompass all individuals involved in health care delivery and support. This holistic approach includes a wide range of staff -ranging from clinical workers to administrative and auxiliary services, thus ensuring a broad and inclusive approach to IPC training. The guide is designed to be flexible, allowing for adaptation to various educational and practical contexts to meet specific national and local IPC requirements and policies. It delineates three distinct competency levels within the curriculum: • foundational: introduces basic IPC principles applicable universally across all health and care worker roles; • intermediate: delivers more detailed IPC practices, particularly for clinical practitioners in direct contact with patients; • advanced: provides specialized IPC knowledge tailored for clinical specialists and managerial roles, reflecting the specific needs of their positions and settings. This curriculum serves as an essential reference tool to support the planning, development, and localization of IPC education materials, aligning closely with the WHO core components for IPC programmes and the directions provided within the WHO global strategy and action plan on IPC. It supports countries in their efforts to implement actions to improve IPC knowledge and skills among health and care workers according to the recommendations in the WHO global action plan and monitoring framework. By enhancing the IPC competencies of health and care workers, this guide supports the capacity of the health care system to effectively manage and prevent infections, which is particularly crucial in improving patient outcomes and promoting safer health care environments, including in the context of epidemics, pandemics and other public health emergencies.




Antimicrobial Resistance


Book Description

Tackling the realities of the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) situation today is no longer uncommon. Many battles have been fought in the past since the discovery of antibiotics between man and microbes. In the tussle of new antibiotic modifications, the transmission of resistant genes, both vertically and horizontally unveils yet another resistant attribute for the microbe, for it only to be faced with a more powerful, wide spectrum antibiotic; the cycle continues-and the winner is yet to be known. This book aims to provide some insight into various molecular mechanisms, agricultural mitigation methods, and the One Health applications to maybe, just maybe, tip the scales towards us.




Embracing a One Health Framework to Fight Antimicrobial Resistance


Book Description

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) - the ability of microbes to resist antimicrobials - remains an alarming global health threat. This is despite the efforts made by OECD and EU/EEA countries to curtail it. Unless additional effective interventions are scaled up quickly, AMR rates are forecasted to increase in the next three decades across OECD and EU/EEA countries, with costs exceeding the healthcare expenditure on the COVID-19 pandemic. Using microsimulation and machine-learning techniques, this report analyses critical policy levers to inform the next generation of AMR initiatives. It shows that tackling the detrimental health and economic impact of AMR requires embracing a One Health framework - a collaborative, trans-disciplinary and multi-sectoral approach that promotes close co-operation and collaboration across human health, animal health, agrifood systems and the environment. This report identifies 11 One Health "best buys" that, if implemented systematically, would improve population health, reduce health expenditure and generate positive returns for the economy.




Improving Food Safety Through a One Health Approach


Book Description

Globalization of the food supply has created conditions favorable for the emergence, reemergence, and spread of food-borne pathogens-compounding the challenge of anticipating, detecting, and effectively responding to food-borne threats to health. In the United States, food-borne agents affect 1 out of 6 individuals and cause approximately 48 million illnesses, 128,000 hospitalizations, and 3,000 deaths each year. This figure likely represents just the tip of the iceberg, because it fails to account for the broad array of food-borne illnesses or for their wide-ranging repercussions for consumers, government, and the food industry-both domestically and internationally. A One Health approach to food safety may hold the promise of harnessing and integrating the expertise and resources from across the spectrum of multiple health domains including the human and veterinary medical and plant pathology communities with those of the wildlife and aquatic health and ecology communities. The IOM's Forum on Microbial Threats hosted a public workshop on December 13 and 14, 2011 that examined issues critical to the protection of the nation's food supply. The workshop explored existing knowledge and unanswered questions on the nature and extent of food-borne threats to health. Participants discussed the globalization of the U.S. food supply and the burden of illness associated with foodborne threats to health; considered the spectrum of food-borne threats as well as illustrative case studies; reviewed existing research, policies, and practices to prevent and mitigate foodborne threats; and, identified opportunities to reduce future threats to the nation's food supply through the use of a "One Health" approach to food safety. Improving Food Safety Through a One Health Approach: Workshop Summary covers the events of the workshop and explains the recommendations for future related workshops.




Global Health and the Future Role of the United States


Book Description

While much progress has been made on achieving the Millenium Development Goals over the last decade, the number and complexity of global health challenges has persisted. Growing forces for globalization have increased the interconnectedness of the world and our interdependency on other countries, economies, and cultures. Monumental growth in international travel and trade have brought improved access to goods and services for many, but also carry ongoing and ever-present threats of zoonotic spillover and infectious disease outbreaks that threaten all. Global Health and the Future Role of the United States identifies global health priorities in light of current and emerging world threats. This report assesses the current global health landscape and how challenges, actions, and players have evolved over the last decade across a wide range of issues, and provides recommendations on how to increase responsiveness, coordination, and efficiency â€" both within the U.S. government and across the global health field.




Strengthening Health Systems A Practical Handbook for Resilience Testing


Book Description

Seizing a narrowing policy window in a post-pandemic context, the OECD and the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, with support from the European Commission, developed a comprehensive methodology culminating in a handbook on "Strengthening Health Systems: A Practical Handbook for Resilience Testing." Inspired by stress tests in various sectors, this methodology was piloted in Finland, Greece, and Spain throughout 2023.




OECD Health Policy Studies Waiting Time Policies in the Health Sector What Works?


Book Description

This book provides a framework to understand why there are waiting lists for elective surgery in some OECD countries and not in others. It also describes how waiting times are measured in OECD countries and reviews different policy approaches to tackling excessive waiting times.




OECD Health Policy Studies Securing Medical Supply Chains in a Post-Pandemic World


Book Description

This report offers insights into the risks and vulnerabilities of the supply chains of medicines and medical devices. Policy options to anticipate and mitigate risks of shortages of medicines and medical devices, both routinely and in the context of severe crises, are analysed. Most importantly, the report shows that strengthening the long-term resilience of medical supply chains requires collaborative approaches that balance measures best undertaken by the private sector with those more appropriately managed by governments or supranationally.