Paper drafted as a contribution to the network by the Behavioral Science Group, with a foreword by Professor David Halpern, President Emeritus of the Behavioural Insights Team.
Antimicrobial resistance is among the most urgent health threats in the world, already responsible for over a million deaths a year. It is not primarily a problem of drug discovery. It is the accumulated result of millions of ordinary decisions: a patient who asks for antibiotics they do not need, a pharmacist who dispenses without a prescription, a physician who finds it quicker to write one than to explain why not.
This white paper presents work by the Behavioral Science Group, a GBEND founding member, on changing those decisions at scale, through domestic and international work.
Key takeaways
1. Behavior is the lever
Because AMR is driven by everyday choices rather than by a single technical failure, low-cost behavioral interventions can produce outsized returns.
2. National evidence: field trials in the UAE
A "double nudge" targeting both patients and physicians reduced unnecessary antibiotic requests. In an online experiment, an "alternative prescription" nudge cut hypothetical requests by more than 35%.
3. International evidence: six countries
BSG is building its evidence base across the UAE, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Kenya, and the UK, including field trials in Kenyan community pharmacies.
Authors
- Adam Jones
- Rasha Attar
- David Halpern
- Eman Farahat
- Chiara Lo Valvo
- Chiara Cappellini
