Our Commitment to Advocacy

APUA conducts evidenced-based advocacy to improve institutional and governmental policies.  APUA approaches policy questions with a multidisciplinary perspective involving pharmacoeconomics, policy analysis, epidemiology, microbiology, clinical medicine, and behavioral research. APUA staff and board members provide expert testimony and policy advice and serve on panels including: USFDA Anti-infective Advisory Committee, WHO Patient Safety Committee, Global Development Council, Institute of Medicine and U.S. CDC. APUA convenes advisor groups and expert panels involving diverse stakeholders, including industry, governmental, and consumer organizations, to document evidence and provide national and international policy guidance on AMR. Areas of policy focus include:

 1.  Economic Cost of Antimicrobial Resistance and Misuse
Resistant infections are a major cause of morbidity, mortality, and disability with associated economic impacts on health care costs and lost productivity.  APUA engages in systematic evaluations to determine the economic burden of resistance on society and to compile evidence that can help guide clinical and regulatory action.  These studies provide policy makers with evidence on the factors impacting the cost of drug resistance, the economic burden of drug resistance on the health care systems, and the cost effectiveness of various interventions.

2.  Accelerating Access to Antimicrobials and Diagnostics
APUA works with the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), the American Medical Association (AMA), and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) to promote U.S. public policy and legislation that will maintain incentives for pharmaceutical antibiotic development and appropriate use.   APUA is part of a national coalition to promote passage of the STAAR (Strategies to Address Antimicrobial Resistance) Act.

3.  Antibiotics in Animals and the Impact on Resistance
APUA works with diverse stakeholders to gain consensus on controversial policy issues. APUA is currently conducting an update to the FAAIR report and investigating implementation and effectiveness of the EU Ban on antibiotics for growth promotion in agriculture.  

4. Improving Sanitation and Hygiene to Control Infectious Disease
APUA advocates for the responsible use of hygiene agents so as to promote infection control, while reducing misuse of agents such as triclosan that could potentially compromise the effectiveness of antibiotic resources.