Building antimicrobial stewardship capacity through participatory health literacy workshops in Zimbabwe

Background and objectives Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a mounting sustainability challenge to healthcare systems, especially in Southern African settings, where antimicrobial stewardship capacity is limited by resource constraints, with structural challenges exacerbating the problem of resistance. Strengthening education could support the development of AMR-related knowledge, and stewardship skills for health practitioners are key to enhancing antimicrobial use and addressing AMR. This paper investigates how participatory research workshops can support the development of AMR-related health literacy among Zimbabwean health practitioners (doctors, nurses and pharmacists) and how such literacy can promote antimicrobial stewardship. Methods Eight interdisciplinary workshops involving 25 health practitioners were conducted at two teaching hospitals in Harare, Zimbabwe. Workshop transcripts were analysed using a combination of a value-creation framework and health literacy. The analysis identified how workshops created immediate, applied and transformative values, supporting stewardship. Results The workshops created, based on self-reporting from participants, values enabling practitioners’ development of AMR-related health literacy. Functional literacy could strengthen prescribing practices and patient adherence to treatment. Interactive literacy may improve interdisciplinary collaboration. Critical literacy have the potential to support the identification of drivers of AMR in resource-limited contexts in Southern Africa. Conclusions Created values and AMR-related health literacy may support antimicrobial stewardship, with workshops providing a context-relevant approach to enhance AMS capacity in Southern African healthcare settings. This educational approach has the potential to contribute to bridging the gap between awareness and stewardship practice. Through integration into professional training, it could support the promotion of sustainable antimicrobial use in Southern African contexts.