News

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses an increasing threat to patients in the U.S. and even more so in rural communities, driven by factors that are distinct to rural settings, including clinical workforce shortages and inequitable distribution, economic pressures and hospital closures, and environmental exposures, according to a new white paper from the AMR Action Fund. Drawing on real-world case studies, interviews with clinicians and professors, peer-reviewed research, and data from national health agencies, the white paper, Underserved and Overexposed: AMR in Rural America," examines the risks AMR poses to a variety of populations, including pediatric patients, expectant and birthing mothers, and farm workers. The paper highlights the challenges that rural hospitals face when it comes to adhering to antibiotic stewardship principles and examines how agricultural workers can be exposed occupationally to antibiotics and antifungal compounds, putting them and their household members at an increased risk of drug-resistant infections. In addition to characterizing the threat AMR poses to rural populations, the paper offers several recommendations to mitigate the risk of AMR and improve patient care, including enhancing recruitment efforts for clinicians to work in rural settings, improving access to and utilization of new diagnostic and antimicrobial technologies and therapeutics, and increasing support for antimicrobial stewardship programs in rural settings."