Antibiotics and activity spaces : rural health behaviour survey in Northern Thailand and Southern Laos 2017-2018

The activity’s messages were based on World Health Organization AMR awareness-raising material. A mixed-methods research design informed the analysis. Descriptive difference-in-difference and geographical analysis based on complete village census surveys with a 3-month interval (n = 1096) was supplemented by qualitative data and observations from the educational activity.

The underlying conceptual framework hypothesised that outcomes arise via (a) direct participation and indirect exposure (posters, conversations), subject to translational processes and physical and health system contexts; and via (b) the activity’s influence on village social networks. The outcomes demonstrated that participants aligned their antibiotic-related attitudes and behaviours with the activity’s recommendations.

Aside from language barriers (which excluded non-Thai speakers), fragmented local healthcare landscapes limited villagers’ ability to act on the activity but also provided a market opportunity for informal antibiotics sales, and interactions with parallel yet misunderstood public health campaigns created rumours and resistance. Social support from community members also promoted healthy behaviours but remained unaffected by the activity.

As one of the most detailed mixed-method assessments of public engagement in AMR, this study challenges the current dominance of awareness-raising campaigns to change population behaviours. We call for comprehensive mixed-method evaluations of future campaigns, mandatory two-directional knowledge exchange components, and alternative behaviour change approaches that respond to contextual constraints like precarity rather than alleged knowledge deficits.<br><br>Data record consists of 3 data files in .dta format, 7 documentation files - covering the project information, questionnaires and surveys used, and codebooks - and a readme file for the data.

The three data sets comprise each a provincial-level representative rural survey of adults in Chiang Rai and Salavan, and a two-round census survey with a three-month interval in five villages across the two sites (3 in Chiang Rai, 2 in Salavan). The surveys were implemented by 10-member survey teams in each country between November 2017 and April 2018. Data were cleaned and prepared for public disclosure using Stata 15.

All strings variables have been checked to ensure no personal information (e.g. names, addresses, contact information etc.) remains. Access to data is safeguarded according to the UK Data Service definition and requires a free UK Data Service registration to access.