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Article published In:
Information Design Journal
Vol. 26:1 (2021) ► pp.17–32

Beat Bad Microbes

Raising public awareness of antibiotic resistance in Rwanda

ORCID logo | University of Reading
| University of Reading
ORCID logo | University of Reading
ORCID logo | University of Reading

Health-related information design has made a difference to people’s lives through clear explanation of procedures, processes, disease prevention and maintenance. This paper provides an example of user-centered design being applied to engage people with the prevention of drug-resistant infection. In particular, we focus on antibiotic resistance in the specific location of a community pharmacy in Rwanda. We describe an information campaign, Beat Bad Microbes, and summarize the challenges and opportunities of working in Rwanda on a cross-disciplinary project in which design research and practice are closely integrated.

Keywords: AMR, antibiotic resistance, codesign, partnership, health, patient information, information design, user-centered design
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.An ‘equitable partnership’
  • 3.The origins of Beat Bad Microbes
  • 4.Workshops: Developing Beat Bad Bugs for Rwanda
    • 4.1First workshop: Producing a design brief
      • Visual identity
      • Antibiotic record card
      • Information about antibiotics
    • 4.2Second workshop: Feedback from stakeholders
      • Visual identity
      • Antibiotic record card
      • Information cards
      • Set of posters
      • Information for pharmacists
  • 5.Challenges, benefits and opportunities
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
Published online: 28 April 2021
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/idj.20023.wal
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