W Awareness #5 - Get Smart About Antibiotics Week

Who: Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work. 

Where: This program is housed within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, GA, USA. 

http://www.cdc.gov/getsmart/index.html

What: 

When:

Why: 

The focus of our program is to promote appropriate antibiotic use in the community (outpatient) setting.

Get Smart About Antibiotics Week has been an annual effort to coordinate the work of CDC’s Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work campaign, state-based appropriate antibiotic use campaigns, non-profit partners, and for-profit partners during a one week observance of antibiotic resistance and the importance of appropriate antibiotic use.

The campaign organized its first annual Get Smart About Antibiotics Week in 2008. During November 12-18, 2012, the annual Get Smart About Antibiotics Week will be observed. As in past years, the effort will coordinate work of CDC’s Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work campaign, state-based appropriate antibiotic use campaigns, non-profit partners, and for-profit partners during a one week observance of antibiotic resistance and the importance of appropriate antibiotic use. As with the past observances, messages and resources for improving antibiotic use in healthcare settings from CDC’s Get Smart for Healthcare campaign will be included. Get Smart for Healthcare is a program housed in CDC’s National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases.

The 2012 observance also marks the third year of an international collaboration, which will coincide with European Antibiotic Awareness Day, Australia's Antibiotic Awareness Week and Canada's Antibiotic Awareness Week.

Additional information about Get Smart Week, including Fact Sheets and graphics that can be used on the web can be found here:

http://www.cdc.gov/getsmart/campaign-materials/week/index.html.

Additionally, the Get Smart program (@CDC_ehealth) will be hosting a Twitter chat on Tuesday, November 13 from 1-2pm Eastern Time (#SaveAbx). The chat will focus on appropriate antibiotic use and symptom relief tips for upper respiratory infections, like the common cold, sinusitis and bronchitis. Please feel free to join the chat and share this information with your blog followers and other interested parties. I know the time difference may make participation difficult, but feel free to check out the Tweets after the fact.