Design, architecture, pharmacy: making a difference to understanding anti-microbial resistance (AMR)

This paper presents the work of the AHRC-funded cross-disciplinary project, ‘Information and Architecture in Persuasive Pharmacy Space: combating antimicrobial resistance’ (IDAPPS) which is designed to support one of the strategic aims of the UK 5-Year Antimicrobial Resistance strategy 2013-18, how to ‘improve the knowledge and understanding of antimicrobial resistance’. The paper introduces the working methods and outcomes of work to consider how we can use space within a pharmacy to encourage people to engage with information about AMR and self-care; and how we can design information so it is understood, whether on paper or in digital form. The research methods included review and analysis of archival material relevant to presenting information about drug-resistant infections; hierarchical task analysis; and co-design workshops with pharmacy workers and users. One of the IDAPPS research outputs was a competition, designed to reinforce the cross-disciplinary approach that we propose is key to the challenge of communicating about AMR. The paper discusses and shows examples of the ideas and prototypes that emerged from the teams of designers, architects, behavioural scientists, and pharmacists.