Education is a powerful tool in the fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a looming public health crisis in which current antimicrobial drugs are increasingly ineffective at treating infections.
The issue isn’t distant or theoretical. A recent study showed that 1,031 Australian deaths were already directly attributable to AMR in 2020 alone – and this number is likely to be under-reported.
Schools play a vital role in shaping young minds and allowing young people to understand science, health and disease prevention.
Yet, despite its importance, AMR education remains largely absent from Australian school curricula. Its inclusion is haphazard and left to the discretion of individual schools and the knowledge of classroom teachers.
From little things, big things grow: schools and AMR education
While Australian students learn about infection, bacteria and viruses in science and health classes in the higher years of high school, AMR is often overlooked.
This omission means that school leavers may learn about infection and antimicrobials, in particular antibiotics, without fully grasping the consequences of their misuse and overuse in humans and animals. This educational gap leaves future generations unprepared to understand and combat one of the most pressing threats to our public health and food security.
Experts are advocating for AMR to be explicitly included in the Australian curriculum from preschool to year 12. Doing so would also provide a key opportunity for children to share this knowledge with their families and communities, fostering broader public health awareness.
For preschool and early primary years, simple messages around hand washing and covering mouths and noses – already familiar practices from COVID lockdowns – can introduce AMR concepts.
For older kids, AMR education could be integrated into multiple subjects, including science, health and even social studies, intersecting with topics such as sexual health, climate change, agriculture and drug discovery.
By embedding AMR into school lessons, students can develop a strong understanding of antibiotic stewardship and infection prevention from an early age.
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AMR is a socio-cultural issue, not just a biomedical one. We need a socio-cultural approach to enable behavioural change.
Dr Karen Lambert
Empowering teachers to teach AMR education
Teachers are instrumental in shaping student understanding. They, too, need health literacy as well as the right tools to teach AMR effectively.
Many educators lack sufficient understanding and knowledge of AMR, leaving them ill-equipped to integrate this topic into their lessons or discuss its broader implications.
Given that AMR is a complex and evolving issue, this is hardly surprising. It is a challenging and constantly evolving topic to communicate, and many teachers may not feel confident addressing it.
Improving health literacy among teachers is essential. Experts have raised the importance of AMR training and resources for teachers during their training and continuing education to equip them with AMR knowledge.
Dr Jen Payne, a CSIRO research scientist with a passion for AMR community engagement, says that STEM education should be embedded into pre-service teacher education. She stresses that future educators must be STEM confident and understand AMR themselves to effectively pass on knowledge to students.
Professional development programs could include workshops on AMR, highlighting real-world examples and practical ways to discuss the issue with students.
Engaging strategies for AMR education
Despite being a national health priority, there are no public health promotion campaigns for AMR targeting children (or adults for that matter).
For preschool-aged kids, large-scale marketing campaigns and collaborations with children’s media, such as the show Bluey, could enhance awareness among young audiences in a fun and engaging way.
For primary-aged kids, research indicates that positive early science experiences can impact science literacy for the rest of their lives. Dr Payne believes that access to engaging STEM activities for school students can empower the next generation to be scientifically literate and help bridge the knowledge gap in AMR.
Her non-profit STEM education program, STEMpals, connects Australian upper primary school students to STEM professionals who explain their fields in an engaging and easy-to-understand manner through a pen pal program. This has resulted in improved STEM engagement for the students and teachers gaining confidence in teaching areas of STEM they previously would not have considered.
Leveraging the influence of music and sports idols at live events and on social media could help raise AMR awareness among older primary and teenagers.
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AMR is a space that needs some advocacy and change in our schools so our kids are empowered to know and change the AMR problem.
Dr Jen Payne
AMR education needs a strong advocacy push
One challenge in integrating AMR into education is the lack of a dedicated advocacy group championing its inclusion.
Unlike other public health issues — such as nutrition, sexual health and mental health —AMR lacks a strong lobbying presence to ensure national recognition at the policy level.
“AMR is a space that needs some advocacy and change in our schools so our kids are empowered to know and change the AMR problem,” Dr Payne says.
Public health experts and educators must collaborate to build a coalition advocating for AMR education in schools.
Dr Karen Lambert, Associate Head of School, School of Curriculum, Teaching and Inclusive Education and Centre Leader, Centre to Impact AMR, says that this effort should involve government agencies, healthcare professionals and curriculum developers to create age-appropriate learning materials that educate and engage students.
As the curriculum is already overcrowded, modules and incursions aligned with the current curriculum could cover AMR topics or concepts in the short term. In the long term, AMR education should be explicitly taught from preschool to graduation.
The Fleming Initiative is building a global AMR education curriculum
In September 2024, the 79th UN General Assembly declared the urgent need for AMR education to equip primary and secondary students with the knowledge needed to become advocates and stewards of antibiotic use.
In response, the Fleming Initiative – a global effort to control AMR through behavioural science and public engagement – is paving the way for worldwide AMR education initiatives.
This initiative is convening experts and key stakeholders later this year to develop a global consensus on AMR education. The goal is to determine what children and adolescents should learn about AMR in primary and secondary education and how they can become antimicrobial stewards and AMR advocates.
“If we can implement a global curriculum framework on AMR that can be easily adapted and made relevant to the local region, kids will learn about it and be on board from an early age. Then we would have a wonderful number of advocates available to understand and prevent infections, and then hopefully more AMR researchers in the long run too,” Dr Payne said.
Small actions, big impact: education drives behavioural change
Beyond awareness, AMR education must help children understand their role in preventing resistance.
AMR can feel like an overwhelming problem, much like early discussions around climate change. However, small individual actions – such as reducing unnecessary antibiotic use and proper hygiene – can collectively make a significant impact.
Dr Lambert emphasises the need to overcome the perception that individual actions don’t make a difference.
“AMR is a socio-cultural issue, not just a biomedical one. We need a socio-cultural approach to enable behavioural change,” Dr Lambert says.
AMR as a national education priority
The fight against AMR requires a multi-pronged approach, with education being a vital component.
Including AMR in nationwide school curricula taught by teachers supported by AMR education and resources will help build a society capable of making responsible health decisions.
By prioritising AMR education now, we can equip young Australians with the knowledge of AMR and the responsibility to preserve the effectiveness of antibiotics. This is not just a lesson for the classroom – it is a life-saving message for all Australians.
Melissa Waine swapped Petri dishes for prose, transforming her love of science into compelling health and medical writing. She is passionate about antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and communicating the looming threat it will pose if we exhaust our supply of effective treatments.
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