Promoting real-world evidence use for antimicrobial stewardship in Latin America: evaluation of impact of a two-part educational webinar series

Background: Educational programs on the use of real-world evidence (RWE) in antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) are scarce in Latin America (LATAM). Objectives: To develop and evaluate an online educational program supporting LATAM healthcare professionals (HCP)’s ability to use and generate RWE for effective antimicrobial agent use, aligned with AMS principles. Methods: Two 90-min webinars were developed by subject matter experts. Changes in knowledge, skills, confidence and attitudes were measured via paired PRE-and POST-intervention survey questions. Satisfaction, intent to change and remaining barriers were surveyed POST-intervention. McNemar and Wilcoxon Signed Rank statistical tests assessed differences in paired dichotomous and ordinal data, respectively. Unpaired data underwent descriptive analysis. Open-ended responses were subject to thematic content analysis (inductive reasoning approach). Results: The analysis sample included 741 PRE-intervention survey completers (epidemiologists, infection control specialists, chemists, pharmacists, biologists, microbiologists, bacteriologists and other physicians), with 47 completing the full POST survey (33 following webinar 1, and 14 following webinar 2). A significant increase in the percent of completers who were confident of ‘what constitutes RWE’ was found PRE (31%) to POST (73%) intervention (P < 0.001). Median self-reported skill levels changed from ‘2-basic’ to ‘3-intermediate’ for providing examples of RWE and applying RWE in the context of AMS (P < 0.05). Barriers included low perceived value of RWE by administrators and limited access to appropriate data. Conclusions: This education improved HCPs’ confidence in knowing what constitutes RWE. Findings provide direction for future interventions aimed at enhancing access to and appropriate use of RWE to inform AMS in LATAM.