Antibiotics and Activity Spaces: An Exploratory Study of Behaviour, Marginalisation, and Knowledge Diffusion

Overview

The investigators will conduct two rural surveys in Thailand and Lao PDR to improve the understanding of antibiotic-related health behaviour among the general population. One survey will capture a cross-section of health behaviours that is representative for the rural population in Chiang Rai (Thailand) and Salavan (Lao PDR), the other survey will create a two round village-level panel data set to study the evolution of health behaviours in the context of public engagement activities. The investigators will also collect complementary data about village-level infrastructure through observational check-lists, and collect secondary data on patient load from primary care units catering to their survey villages. As part of the questionnaire testing process, the investigators will conduct (and collect as primary data) cognitive interviews to improve the survey tool, to interpret their data, and to justify their methodological choices.

The investigators will collect two data sets each in Lao PDR and Thailand: the first contains district-level representative health behaviour of approx. 2,400 adults across 30 rural communities per country (4,800 in total; representing rural populations of approx. 1-2 million adults); the second is a complete social network census of approx. 1600 adults each in three rural communities per country (approx. 4,800 in total). Within the sampled villages, the investigators will complete checklists about existing formal and informal healthcare facilities and gather patient load data from primary care units catering to the respective villages. As part of the questionnaire testing process, the investigators will conduct (and collect as primary data) cognitive interviews to improve the survey tool, to interpret our data, and to justify our methodological choices. The investigators will carry out the district-level village survey in one round, and the village-level social network censuses in two rounds. Between the two village social network censuses, the investigators will engage in public engagement activities in the selected villages (focused on antibiotic use) and re-survey all adults in the three villages per country two to three months later. Objectives: The primary objective is to improve the understanding of patients' antibiotic-related behaviour to support creative thinking about targeted and unconventional antimicrobial resistance (AMR) interventions in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The investigators strive to achieve this primary objective by informing three research questions in Chiang Rai (Thailand) and Salavan (Lao PDR): 1. What are the manifestations and determinants of problematic antibiotic use in patients' healthcare-seeking pathways? 2. Will people's exposure to antibiotic awareness activities entail changed behaviours that diffuse or dissipate within a network of competing healthcare practices? 3. Which proxy indicators facilitate the detection of problematic antibiotic behaviours across and within communities?