BMC Public Health is calling for submissions to our Collection on Appropriate use of antibiotics: public health strategies, knowledge, and practice gaps.

Misuse of antibiotics contributes to antimicrobial resistance (AMR), posing a threat to the future management of bacterial diseases. However, it is a multi-faceted problem without a simple solution.

Antibiotic misuse can take various forms, each requiring different strategies to address. In healthcare systems, antibiotic overuse is often driven by the tension between clinical uncertainty and the desire to offer patients a treatment that may improve their symptoms or prevent them from developing complications. The prescription of antibiotics is often done empirically, driven by the difficulty of distinguishing between bacterial and viral infections at the point of care, or the worry that a lack of intervention could have consequences.

Added to this, people in the community can contribute to inappropriate use by reusing or sharing leftover antibiotics from prior prescriptions. Similarly, misplaced expectations around the benefits of antibiotics can drive misuse in the community, pointing to the need for community-focused and community-led initiatives to inform the public on the use of antibiotics and the collective impact of antimicrobial resistance.

However, social science reframes antibiotic overuse as more than an individual behaviour problem. Antibiotics frequently act as a social and structural “quick fix” that supports care, productivity, hygiene, and coping with inequality in everyday life. They are used to compensate for gaps in water, sanitation, social protection, and health-system capacity, suggesting that interventions focusing narrowly on individual knowledge and attitudes may be unlikely to succeed unless they also address these wider drivers.

This Collection aims to explore the various dimensions of the responsible use of antibiotics, examining the prevalence of misuse and strategies for reducing unnecessary use, covering interventions aimed at prescribers and pharmacists as well as 'bottom-up' strategies such as community education campaigns. We invite contributions that investigate the roles of healthcare providers, patients, professional guidance, communities, and policymakers in addressing this pressing issue.

Potential topics for submission include, but are not limited to:

Patterns of antibiotics overuse in various populations

The role of healthcare providers in preventing misuse

Public health campaigns and gross-roots initiatives to promote responsible use of antibiotics

Policy frameworks for improving the prescribing and dispensing of antibiotics

Social and structural drivers of antibiotic use (ethnographic, anthropological, and political-economy analyses).

Interventions that address upstream determinants (water, sanitation, social protection, labour conditions) alongside stewardship measures.

This Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being).

All manuscripts submitted to this journal, including those submitted to collections and special issues, are assessed in line with our editorial policies and the journal’s peer review process. Reviewers and editors are required to declare competing interests and can be excluded from the peer review process if a competing interest exists.

Digital exclusion poses significant barriers to health equity, particularly in the context of an increasingly technology-driven healthcare landscape. Many individuals, especially from underserved communities face challenges in accessing digital health resources, including telehealth services, electronic health records, and health information online, alongside challenges from other social determinants of health. This Collection seeks to explore the intersection of digital health access and health equity, focusing on the disparities that arise from unequal access to digital tools and resources.

Addressing digital health exclusion is critical for promoting health equity and ensuring that all individuals can benefit from advancements in digital health. Recent strides in telehealth and digital health interventions have demonstrated the potential for technology to improve access to care, yet they also reveal significant disparities that must be acknowledged. By understanding the factors that contribute to eHealth disparities, we can develop targeted digital inclusion strategies that address the unique needs of diverse populations, ultimately fostering a more equitable health system.

Topics for submission include but are not limited to:

• Equitable digital health systems: policy, infrastructure, and community engagement
• Digital health access among underserved communities
• Digital literacy and health outcomes across diverse populations
• Innovations and implementation strategies for bridging digital health gaps in underserved communities
• Measuring and monitoring digital health disparities: metrics and methodologies

This Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 3 (Good Health and Well Being) and SDG 10: (Reduced Inequalities).

All manuscripts submitted to this journal, including those submitted to collections and special issues, are assessed in line with our editorial policies and the journal’s peer-review process. Reviewers and editors are required to declare competing interests and can be excluded from the peer review process if a competing interest exists.