Get Smart About Antibiotics Week

November 14-20, 2011

APUA is proud to have been a national partner of the CDC's Get Smart About Antibiotics Week both in 2011 and in 2010. Get Smart About Antibiotics Week is an annual effort to coordinate the work of CDC’s Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work campaign, state-based appropriate antibiotic use campaigns, non-profit partners, and for-profit partners during a one week observance of antibiotic resistance and the importance of appropriate antibiotic use. 

About the CDC Campaign
How to Become a CDC Get Smart Partner
CDC Daily Fact Sheets (NEW MATERIAL FOR 2011!)
APUA Fact Sheets
CDC Brochures
CDC Podcasts

About the CDC Campaign

In response to rising rates of resistance and inappropriate prescribing, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched the National Campaign for Appropriate Antibiotic Use in the Community in 1995. In 2003, the campaign was branded and launched as Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work.

This campaign aims to reduce the rate of rise of antibiotic resistance by:

1. Promoting adherence to appropriate prescribing guidelines among providers,
2. Decreasing demand for antibiotics for viral upper respiratory infections among healthy adults and parents of young children, and
3. Increasing adherence to prescribed antibiotics for upper respiratory infections.

The Get Smart campaign targets the five respiratory conditions that in 1992 accounted for more than 75% of all office-based prescribing for all ages combined: otitis media, sinusitis, pharyngitis, bronchitis, and the common cold. Its partner campaigns, Get Smart for Healthcare and Get Smart on the Farm, are focused on optimization of antibiotic use in inpatient healthcare settings and in veterinary medicine/animal agriculture.

The 2011 observance of Get Smart About Antibiotics Week also marked the second year of an international collaboration, which coincided with both Antibiotic Awareness Week in Canada (November 14-20) and European Antibiotic Awareness Day (November 18, 2011).

How to Become a CDC Get Smart Partner

There are many opportunities to collaborate in promoting appropriate antibiotic use, including, but not limited to:

• Providing education to healthcare consumers
• Distributing healthcare provider detailing sheets reviewing appropriate use guidelines
• Developing local level appropriate antibiotic use campaigns, including educational products Collaborating with Get Smart and local level programs on projects
• Exchanging in-kind services with Get Smart or local level campaigns
• Providing assistance to local level campaigns in producing educational materials or sponsoring events
• Delivering presentations on appropriate use to interested parties

For more information on partnership opportunities, please contact getsmart@cdc.gov.

CDC Daily Fact Sheets (NEW MATERIAL FOR 2011!)

• November 14 (Monday): Antibiotics - will they work when you really need them?

• November 15 (Tuesday): Delivering safe care for patients - all healthcare providers play a role

• November 16 (Wednesday): Antibiotic stewardship - the ultimate return on investment

• November 17 (Thursday): Preserving antibiotics for the future

• November 18 (Friday): Resistance anywhere = resistance everywhere

• Weeklong: Antibiotic use in long-term care facilities

CDC Brochures

• Cold or Flu. Antibiotics Don't Work For You
  This tri-fold brochure briefly explains the difference between bacteria and viruses and how bacteria become resistant. It also answers some common questions about when it is and is not appropriate to use an antibiotic.

• A Veces, el Remedio es Peor que la Enfermedad
  (In Spanish)

CDC Podcasts

• Antibiotics, When and When Not to Use Them
  In this episode of Medical Discovery News, medical experts talk about when and how to use antibiotics the right way.

• Too Much of a Good Thing (A Minute of Health with CDC)
  Discusses how the use of antibiotics has increased significantly for many infections and how many common conditions can be overcome by simply treating the symptoms and letting the illness run its course.

• All You Have to Do is Wash Your Hands
  Teaches children how and when to wash their hands properly.

• Pharmacists Can Make the Difference
  A pharmacist counsels a frustrated mother about appropriate antibiotic use and symptomatic relief options for her son's cold.

• Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
  Key facts about MRSA infections in the United States, including schools and healthcare settings.

• Antibiotic Overuse (A Cup of Health with CDC) (NEW MATERIAL FOR 2011!)
  The discovery of antibiotics was one of the greatest medical achievements of the twentieth century. However, overuse of these drugs has led to the development of resistance in bacteria. As a consequence, some infections can result in serious illness and even death. In this podcast, Dr. Tarayn Fairlie discusses the dangers of overusing antibiotics.

• Snort. Sniffle. Sneeze. No Antibiotics Please! (NEW MATERIAL FOR 2011!)
  Learn more about appropriate antibiotic use and how to feel better when you have a sore throat, ear or sinus pain, fever, cough or runny nose.