-
A questionnaire will assess the health care systems in the participating
countries, the availability of data on antibiotic use and expenditures
in hospitals as well as the current sources of information on
antibiotic consumption data in each participating country.
-
From the information obtained, a protocol will be developed
for a pilot study to collect and collate data on antibiotic
consumption within the Mediterranean partners. The project will
focus mainly on systemic antibiotics used in hospital settings
in the participating countries.
-
A period of data collection will then be undertaken, the length
of which depends on the results of the initial questionnaires.
The co-ordinating centre will be responsible for the validation
of the data gathered during the pilot period, using the template
provided by the lead contractor and submission to the lead package
contractor for further validation and analysis between month
15 and 18, in accordance with the method of validation and analysis
used in the ESAC project.
-
An analysis of the pilot project will be held and a final protocol
for prospective data collection will be adopted. This will then
be followed by a period of 18 months dedicated to the prospective
collection of antibiotic consumption data.
-
Data
flow and management will follow the same protocol as indicated
for the pilot study. The results of the ARMed-ESAC analysis
will be distributed to the participant countries as well as
posted in the ARMed website by the co-ordinator.
-
Comparison of data gathered from the Mediterranean partner countries
with similarly collected data from the ESAC study will be undertaken.
A report will be prepared to coincide with the presentation
of the data at the final meeting in month 48.
-
A study to quantify and assess the degree of self-medication,
including the consumption of OTC antibiotics and leftovers from
prescribed antibiotics will be undertaken.
