Grant: DRA : Canada Graduate Research Scholarship - Doctoral Program (CGRS D)

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when microbes like bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi no longer respond to antimicrobial medicines that are meant to stop their growth or kill them. AMR can have devastating consequences on populations in Canada and abroad because people will develop more serious illnesses, stay ill for longer and they may even die. Antimicrobials are used across human health, animal and plant health and may also remain in the environment and therefore effective solutions must take all three sectors into consideration. This connection between human, animal health and the wider environment is referred to as One Health. Designing solutions across each of the sectors can be challenging because they have their own objectives and desired outcomes. Another challenge is that formal and informal institutions and how they relate with one another and the influence they have on each other, and decision-making has not been given enough attention. Therefore, this study seeks to analyze and understand how formal and informal governance structures and social contexts influence and can be used to improve far-reaching AMR response in Canada and Nigeria as case studies of high and lower middle-income countries. The research will involve conducting a review of published scientific literature and policy documents, conducting interviews with key informants in Nigeria and analyzing data from a multinational (Canada, Netherlands, France, Hungary, Philippines, Senegal) study, using institutional and systems thinking theoretical framework to generate a comprehensive understanding of how the institutions, systems and social environments influence the One Health approach to AMR as well as potential points of apply transformative interventions. The research will lead to new ways of thinking about One Health AMR policy, research and clinical implications and will inform the design of tailored and holistic policies and plans on to improve a One Health response to AMR.