The Role of Registered Nurses in Antibiotic Stewardship to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance in Healthcare Settings : a descriptive literature review
Azotillo, Niviendo; Enriquez, Apple Anne; Tsoi, Shiela Anne (2025)
2025
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https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202601261790
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202601261790
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The purpose of this bachelor’s thesis is to describe the role of registered nurses in antibiotic stewardship, specifically focused on how their knowledge and practices contribute to combating antimicrobial resistance. The study aims to produce new knowledge that can be utilised in nursing education and in healthcare settings.
The method of data collection involved the exploration of academic databases CINAHL, PubMed and a manual search, yielding a total of 756 articles. Through the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 15 articles were selected for analysis. The methods of inductive content analysis were used in data analysis, resulting in the classification of two main categories: the contribution of registered nurses in combating antimicrobial resistance and challenges perceived in implementing antibiotic stewardship.
Inductive content analysis of 15 peer-reviewed articles (2020-2025) from European healthcare settings identified two main categories: (1) registered nurses' contributions towards combating antimicrobial resistance through AMS knowledge, training, clinical assessment, decision-making, role competence and (2) challenges in AMS implementation, including insufficient training, organisational, role ambiguity, operational barriers, infection prevention breaches, and guideline non-compliance.
Nurses are essential in the fight against drug resistance through performing various AMS-related functions such as patient assessment, administration of antibiotics, patient education, and communication. However, the role of nurses in fighting drug resistance cannot be optimised due to the deficiencies in AMS-related education, ambiguities in AMS-related role definitions, and organisational factors. Improvement in nurse competence, reduction in ambiguities in AMS-related role definitions, and enhancement in organisational support are important in optimising the use of nurses in AMS.
The method of data collection involved the exploration of academic databases CINAHL, PubMed and a manual search, yielding a total of 756 articles. Through the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 15 articles were selected for analysis. The methods of inductive content analysis were used in data analysis, resulting in the classification of two main categories: the contribution of registered nurses in combating antimicrobial resistance and challenges perceived in implementing antibiotic stewardship.
Inductive content analysis of 15 peer-reviewed articles (2020-2025) from European healthcare settings identified two main categories: (1) registered nurses' contributions towards combating antimicrobial resistance through AMS knowledge, training, clinical assessment, decision-making, role competence and (2) challenges in AMS implementation, including insufficient training, organisational, role ambiguity, operational barriers, infection prevention breaches, and guideline non-compliance.
Nurses are essential in the fight against drug resistance through performing various AMS-related functions such as patient assessment, administration of antibiotics, patient education, and communication. However, the role of nurses in fighting drug resistance cannot be optimised due to the deficiencies in AMS-related education, ambiguities in AMS-related role definitions, and organisational factors. Improvement in nurse competence, reduction in ambiguities in AMS-related role definitions, and enhancement in organisational support are important in optimising the use of nurses in AMS.