MEDICINE AND SOCIETY: PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE How Should Health Care Respond to Threats Antimicrobial Resistance Poses to Workers?

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a looming pandemic whose poor health outcomes are unlikely to be equitably distributed. This article focuses on intersections between AMR and inequities in health care workplaces in the United States and identifies the following as key problems: lack of published data on task-specific occupational health risks related to colonization and infection with antimicrobial-resistant pathogens, limited scientific literature reporting on race and ethnicity, and poor access to infection control educational opportunities for minoritized health care workers. This article argues that an equitable approach to remediating these problems requires improving surveillance and expanding research on how AMR is likely to influence health outcomes among members of the US-based health care workforce.