Saima Orangzeb was among one of the students receiving student scholarship from SHE spring 2021.
Misuse of antibiotics in Norway
There is a misconception among most of the immigrant students that to acquire an antibiotic in Norway is a difficult process. This makes them carry extra doses of antibiotics from their home countries. Usually, they arrange a handful of supply which is sufficient for one year. Because of the cold climate (where flu-like symptoms appear often), they tend to use it without proper prescription from the authorized physician. This lack of knowledge about the Norwegian health system urges them to this inappropriate practice which leads to AMR among the immigrant students.
There are several social media groups which propose and propel the students to arrange and carry certain antibiotics which are considered appropriate according to their home country health system.
Description of your project
The project seeks to develop an online self-paced course to aware the immigrant students about the Norwegian health system specifically regarding the use of antibiotics. It will help them understand the risks raised by inappropriate use of antibiotics. I have called my project "Combatting inappropriate use of antibiotics among immigrants in Norway".
How did you get the idea?
As an immigrant student I personally experience this thing and was even provided with a list of items to carry from home country, antibiotics we top of the list among them. I have a background as a pharmacist, and I worked with antimicrobial stewardship team. While discussing with other fellow students and seniors from different nationalities I came to know that majority of them got the same advice regarding antibiotics.
How is your project related to sustainability and health?
This project is in line with the SHE's vision to reduce over-diagnosis and over-treatment. Overtreatment is one of the major reasons behind antimicrobial resistance.
Where can we follow your project?
I am in discussion with international office to launch this project on their web page so maximum number of students can benefit from this course, and we are planning to launch this by end of November 2021.