1. Dr Vicki Young, Primary Care Unit, Public Health England
Beat the Bugs: An educational programme on hygiene, antibiotics and self-care for the community setting
Dr Vicki Young, Primary Care Unit, Public Health England
Katie Tucker
Gill Parkinson
Jan Burns
Bren McInerney
The pilot participants
Cliodna McNulty
Charlotte Eley
Cath Hayes
Stephen Cooper
Nick Francis
Nina Gobat
Cynthia Pine
Sally Weston-Price
Tim Chadborn

2. Development of Beat the Bugs
e-Bug is an educational resource for 5 to 18 year olds which teaches about antibiotics, hygiene, and infection
We aimed to extend e-Bug’s reach into the community
Beat the Bugs was developed by e-Bug and Kingfisher Treasure Seekers
The course aims to increase awareness and change behaviour around hygiene, infections and antibiotic use
The course comprises of 6 sessions, each ending with an action planning activity
Each session has a range of activities to suit different ages and abilities.
Beat the Bugs

3. Pilot at Kingfisher Treasure Seekers
A pilot course was undertaken with 7 adults with learning disabilities.
One other pilot has started
Participants and course leader gave feedback
Sessions were observed for fidelity, and to look for opportunities for improvement
3 month follow up
Beat the Bugs

4. “I will keep myself clean and healthy”
Meet the Bugs
Top Trumps
Magazine Microbes
Learning outcomes
There are three different types of microbes, which can be found everywhere
Useful bacteria are found in and on our body
Many of our useful microbes are put to good use every day to help keep us healthy
We need to protect our useful microbes
Sometimes the harmful microbes can make us ill
What microbe am I?
Yeast Races
Make Your Own Microbes
Pilot feedback
This session was a good introduction to microbes.
More visual aids would help stimulate discussion.
“I will keep myself clean and healthy”
(Participant)
Beat the Bugs

5. “Washing hands was the best bit [of the course]”
6 steps of handwashing
Horrid Hands
Spreading Bugs
Learning outcomes
Microbes, including antibiotic resistant bacteria, spread very easily
Everyone carries microbes on their skin, mouth and gut
You can stop your colds and flu spreading to others by catching your coughs and sneezes in a tissue
We can stop harmful microbes spreading to others by washing our hands
How, when and why to wash our hands
Glitter Microbes
The Snot Gun
Pepper Experiment
Pilot feedback
This session was the most enjoyable.
Need to consider how to introduce the spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria.
“Washing hands was the best bit [of the course]”
(Participant)
Beat the Bugs

6. How clean is your kitchen?
Food Bugs
Fridge Raiders
How clean is your kitchen?
Learning outcomes
Microbes are found on most of our food
Bacteria multiply very quickly
To stop getting ill, it is important to wash your hands before and after preparing food
Most foods should only be reheated once
Where and how to store different foods in the fridge
The difference between ‘use by’ and best before
Kitchen Check
Food Sort
Label Sort
Pilot feedback
This session had the most participant questions and discussions
It would benefit from more visual aids for demonstrations.
“Loved interactions and questions about daily lives”
(Course leader)
Beat the Bugs

7. “I liked seeing how much sugar was in things”
Mouth Bugs
Learning outcomes
What dental plaque is and how it forms
Which foods and drinks cause tooth decay
The consequences of tooth decay
How to brush teeth effectively
That limiting sugary foods and drinks can reduce tooth decay
Healthy Diet
How to clean your teeth
Pilot feedback
Participants enjoyed the ‘How much sugar?’ activity.
A mouth model could be used to demonstrate how to brush teeth effectively.
“I liked seeing how much sugar was in things”
(Participant)
Beat the Bugs

8. Antibiotics: Right or Wrong?
Bug Busters
Bacteria
Antibiotic resistant bacteria
Antibiotic
Learning outcomes
Most common infections will get better by themselves
Take antibiotics exactly as given by your doctor or nurse
You must not use other people’s or any leftover antibiotics
Only use antibiotics when you really need them
If you over use antibiotics they might not work when you really need them for a severe infection
Some bacteria can no longer be killed by antibiotics and this is called antibiotic resistance
Remember, antibiotics kill our own useful bacteria
Antibiotic resistant bacteria spread easily from person to person
Bacterial Resistance
Useful Microbes
Antibiotic Guardian
Antibiotics: Right or Wrong?
Pilot feedback
Participants found this session challenging.
They understood how to take antibiotics correctly but not why it was important.
More information is required for the course leader.
Beat the Bugs

9. Know Your Bugs Learning outcomes
Accessing Health Information
Know Your Bugs
Health Information Leaflets
How to take antibiotics correctly
Learning outcomes
How to self-care at home when they are ill
When to go to the doctor
Where to access health information
What information can be gained from healthcare leaflets
Action Plans
Pilot feedback
A good session to end the course and reinforce behaviour change.
Participants disliked reading the leaflets
“The course is so relevant to our daily lives” (Course leader)
Beat the Bugs

10. Participant follow-up
At the 3 month follow up, participants reported:
remembering where to store food in the fridge and why we wash our hands
washing their hands more often
using the 6 steps of hand washing
brushing their teeth more often
continuing to look at sugar content in drinks
consuming less high sugar drinks
they knew that antibiotics should be taken as prescribed by the doctor
Beat the Bugs

11. Updates to Beat the Bugs
The number of visual components has been increased and reading decreased:
Posters have been created for each session
Additional information has been provided for the course leader
A pictorial Managing Your Infection leaflet has been developed
Based on discussions with other community groups:
The course has been adapted to allow each session to be run individually.
Train the trainer sessions are needed.
Beat the Bugs

12. Conclusions and future work
Overall participants enjoyed the course.
The follow up suggested that knowledge, awareness and behaviour had improved.
The course is flexible and can be adapted to suit a range of abilities.
The course is available on the Beat the Bugs webpage
A pilot train the trainer session will take place in October
We would like to run further pilots and evaluate the course.
Beat the Bugs