During her 35-minute presentation, she addressed four key questions:
- How are antimicrobials used in hospitals within the Global-PPS network?
- What do Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) activities look like in these hospitals, and what factors influence their implementation?
- How does Global-PPS support local AMS activities?
- How can AMS capacity be strengthened in these hospitals?
Her doctoral research leveraged the WHO AWaRe classification to analyze global antimicrobial prescribing practices and identified the most significant barriers and facilitators to implementing stewardship activities. A central focus of her work was the drive-AMS programme, where she described how behaviour change theory was applied through hands-on training to help hospitals develop sustainable, context-specific stewardship programmes. Dr. Pauwels concluded with insightful recommendations for further strengthening Global-PPS and drive-AMS collaboration in the future.
The recording of Ines Pauwels’ defence, titled “Global antimicrobial prescribing patterns and the initiation of stewardship activities in hospitals within the Global-PPS network,” is now available on the drive-AMS website at this link.