The NIHR Health Protection Research Unit participated in the Young Producers Project as part of the Great Exhibition Road Festival. The project allows young people aged 18-24 in the local area to work with researchers at Imperial and artists to create an installation combining art and science. Here, we talk to three of our Young Producers about what it is like to be part of the programme and what they learned about Antimicrobial Resistance for World Antimicrobial Resistance Week 2023.
Aiah Muradi
Hello, I’m Aiah and I’m 21 years old and I really enjoy being creative and trying out new things!
In October 2022, I signed up to join the Young Producers Project being run by Imperial College. This aims to give local young people paid experience in event content production. It consisted of weekly workshops with researchers from the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance, which ran from January to June. The project allowed us to co-design and co-produce content for two public events: Imperial Lates and The Great Exhibition Road Festival.
At the start of the process, I knew very little about antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and didn’t really think about it often as I didn’t know it was a huge concept. However, by the end of the Young Producers, I realised the importance of AMR and the need for this to be communicated effectively, particularly amongst young people. I have come to understand that Antibiotics if used very often can increase AMR causing negative side effects for both individuals who take the antibiotics and society as a whole-as it will become more difficult to treat infections.
I found the Young Producers programme very fun, social and enjoyable for a young person like me. The programme helped build my confidence as well as enabling me to make friends and be part of a social group I wouldn’t have known if I didn’t take part in the programme. This has made me more self aware of the antibiotics I am taking as well as making sure I use them well to ensure I have the best health.
My take home on AMR and my message for others for this World AMR Awareness Week is that anyone taking antibiotics should be responsible and be aware of the impact AMR has and their contribution towards it.
Arwa Muradi
Hi, my name is Arwa, I am 18 years old and I really love experiencing things that I would usually not go for and that are out of my comfort zone.
In October 2022, I signed up to join the Young Producers Project being run by Imperial College. This aims to give local young people paid experience in event content production. It consisted of weekly workshops with researchers from the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance, which ran from January to June and led to us co-designing and co-producing content for two events: Imperial Lates and The Great Exhibition Road Festival. At the start of the project when I was told about Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) I was very confused and it wasn’t something I thought of in my day to day life. I also had very mixed feelings with the topic as during my time at college I wasn’t really good at science and I never really understood it. However, by the end of the young producers, I came to an understanding that I didn’t really have to enjoy science to understand the concept behind AMR and recognised that knowing about AMR is important. It helps us understand the growing problem of bacteria and other microorganisms becoming resistant to antibiotics. This knowledge allows us to take preventive measures and use antibiotics more responsibly to combat the spread of drug-resistant infections. It’s crucial for public health and the effectiveness of medical treatments.
My thoughts on the Young Producer programme was it was something that I never expected to do as it was out of my comfort zone to speak to new people and socialise with them. Joining this programme helped me overcome my inability to speak to new people, thanks to the amazing team.Everyone was collaborative, respectful and understanding of peoples’ opinions. This programme also helped me create new friends – I am very thankful for this great opportunity. Learning about AMR has increased my awareness ofthe importance of proper antibiotic use and has widened my knowledge which I am able to use in the future and inform those around me about the importance of AMR and the impacts.
My take home message about AMR and my message to others for World AMR Awareness Week is that people should know that AMR is a big problem and we need to use antibiotics wisely, follow healthcare professiona’sinstructions, and prevent infections to stop AMR from spreading. Let’s raise awareness and take action to protect our health!
Aravind Kokkranikal
I’m Aravind, a 24 year-old living in London. I currently work in the arts industry, a world that I am fairly new to after completing a degree in accounting and finance. So far, I really enjoy this field as many artists make art about very different things which gives me the opportunity to learn about a wide variety of subjects.
In October 2022, I signed up to join the Young Producers Project being run by Imperial College. This aims to give local young people paid experience in event content production. It consisted of weekly workshops with researchers from the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance, which ran from January to June. As well as co-designing and co-producing content for two public events: Imperial Lates and The Great Exhibition Road festival.
Beginning this process, most of my knowledge about AMR had come from what I had learnt during my secondary school education. I was taught the steps of how some diseases developed resistance towards different medicines, but overall, what I remembered was quite general and not very in-depth. I had believed that the general processes from school were applicable for the majority of diseases when in fact I was completely oblivious about how much there was still to discover.
By the end of the Young Producers, I became more aware about the intricacies of AMR and how diseases had their own individual characteristic that needed to be accounted for in treatment. Working with the researchers who us create our installations gave me the opportunity to correct any previous misconceptions I had about AMR and treatment. During the programme, the researchers spoke about what they were researching. Hearing about ongoing research enabled me to understand more about the current challenges of treating diseases and how much progress there was left to make. Learning about AMR has made me take medical advice a lot more seriously. Especially when friends/family complain about the hassle of taking medicine regularly, I am better able to explain why following a treatment plan is the best option.
Especially in a time post-pandemic, I was able to refer to my experiences and understand the methods of distributing the vaccine as well as other measures that were in place.
I really enjoyed my experience in the Young Producers programme. It was interesting on how to blend science and art together to help explain important concepts to the public. Finding creative ways to explain something as complicated as AMR helped me understand it a lot better and hopefully helped others understand it a bit better too. It was great to befriend other people from different ages and backgrounds, and work with them to raise awareness about something important.
My take home message about AMR and my message to others for this World AMR Awareness Week is listen to your GP! Some of the challenges I heard about treatment was the fact that a lot of people would either not follow treatment plans properly or demand antibiotics that are unnecessary to use. I think a big issue is that a lot of people may reach conclusions without properly learning about AMR, and it could be worth asking questions to know why GPs are giving you specific treatment plans. It would be better if more people were aware about AMR to understand why it is important to properly follow treatment plans.