2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Antimicrobial resistance is a significant threat to not only human health but also animal and environmental health, putting this issue squarely into the One-Health arena. Furthermore, the drivers of and thus potential solutions to antimicrobial resistance are found in many sectors, including agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and wastewater treatment. Those who work on this issue are subsequently often from very different fields, such as public policy, environmental engineering, public health, and various scientific disciplines. Policy development in any field requires the engagement of stakeholders in order to create informed, broadly supported, and effective policies. This is particularly true in the context of complex issues like antimicrobial resistance; stakeholder representatives from relevant government agencies and interest groups must come together to make science-informed decisions.

This mixed-methods study examines how serious games can be used to teach both stakeholders and researchers about the importance of antimicrobial resistance, how stakeholders and their values influence the policy process, and how science is more or less effectively used in policy negotiations. Using social learning theory, we developed a negotiation-style serious game focused on antimicrobial resistance featuring eight different stakeholders with different values, interests, and pieces of information. Participants in a workshop were given roles and placed in three identical simulation groups where they negotiated around various options to tackle antimicrobial resistance. The main goal for the players was to work together to develop a list of policy recommendations to be implemented into the United States National Action Plan for Antimicrobial Resistance based on the information they were provided and their respective (assigned) stakeholder values and interests.

We surveyed the players of the game to understand the effectiveness of the exercise against six different learning objectives. The pre/post survey design involved surveys before and after the game was played and consisted of both Likert-scale questions and several open-ended questions. The game was immediately followed by a semi-structured focus group. We generated descriptive statistics and a Wilcoxon matched pairs test comparing pre- and post-exercise surveys, and thematic analysis of the qualitative data. The participants were members of an NSF-funded research traineeship on antimicrobial resistance, ranging from first-year graduate students to tenured faculty whose research is focused on antimicrobial resistance at a large Southeastern Research-focused (R1) institution. The majority of these participants came from departments within the College of Engineering, but others came from other colleges and schools within the institution.