Faculdade de Ciências, Departamento de Biologia, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
PLoS One. 2012;7(9):e44699. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0044699. Epub 2012 Sep 12.
Health-promoting education is essential to foster an informed society able to make decisions about socio-scientific issues based on scientifically sustained criteria. Antibiotic resistance is currently a major public health issue. Considering that irrational antibiotic use has been associated with the development and widespread of antibiotic resistant bacteria, educational interventions to promote prudent antibiotic consumption are required.
METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: This study focuses on the outcomes of an interventional program implemented at the University of Porto, Portugal, to promote awareness about antibiotic resistance at high school levels (15-17 year old). The project Microbiology recipes: antibiotics à la carte articulates a set of wet and dry lab activities designed to promote the participants' understanding of concepts and processes underlying antibiotics' production and activity, such as the notion of mechanisms of action of antibiotics. Following a mix-method approach based on a pre-/post design, the effectiveness of this project was assessed by gathering data from surveys, direct observation and analysis of artifacts of 42 high school students (aged 15 and 16 years). The results indicate that the participants developed a more comprehensive picture of antibiotic resistance. The project was shown to promote more sophisticated conceptualizations of bacteria and antibiotics, increased awareness about the perils of antibiotic resistance, and enhanced consciousness towards measures that can be undertaken to mitigate the problem. The participants regarded their experiences as enjoyable and useful, and believed that the project contributed to improve their understanding and raise their interest about the issues discussed. Furthermore, there were also improvements in their procedural skills concerning the laboratory techniques performed.
CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This study evidences the possibility of increasing high school students' awareness about the consequences of antibiotic resistance and the importance of judicious antibiotic use. The findings inform about the educational benefits of incorporating hands-on activities in science education programs.
促进健康教育对于培养一个有知识的社会至关重要，使社会能够基于科学依据对社会科学问题做出决策。抗生素耐药性目前是一个主要的公共卫生问题。鉴于不合理使用抗生素与抗生素耐药菌的产生和广泛传播有关，需要进行教育干预以促进合理使用抗生素。
方法/主要发现：本研究关注的是在葡萄牙波尔图大学实施的一项干预计划的结果，该计划旨在提高高中生（15-17 岁）对抗生素耐药性的认识。该项目“微生物学食谱：抗生素自选”提出了一套湿实验和干实验活动，旨在促进参与者理解抗生素生产和作用背后的概念和过程，例如抗生素作用机制的概念。该项目采用基于预/后设计的混合方法，通过收集 42 名高中生（15 岁和 16 岁）的调查、直接观察和人工制品分析数据，评估了该项目的有效性。结果表明，参与者对抗生素耐药性有了更全面的认识。该项目被证明可以促进对细菌和抗生素的更复杂概念化，提高对抗生素耐药性危险的认识，并增强对可以采取的减轻问题的措施的意识。参与者认为他们的经验是愉快和有用的，并认为该项目有助于提高他们对所讨论问题的理解和兴趣。此外，他们在实验室技术方面的程序技能也有所提高。
结论/意义：本研究证明了提高高中生对抗生素耐药性后果以及合理使用抗生素重要性的认识的可能性。研究结果表明，在科学教育计划中纳入实践活动具有教育意义。
