Developing strategies for promoting health or preventing ‘illbeing’ of the population forms one of the most complex global challenges. As such, global health challenges, such as Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), are hugely complex problems with diverse influences, driven by human activity…
Dust Bunny
Exploring hygiene practices in different home environments in Ghana to understand the home as a source of infection of AMR bacteria carried by dust
About
The Dust Bunny project will apply design research methods coupled with microbiological analyses to address issues of home-based infections in Ghana, particularly those carrying antimicrobial resistance, resulting in a reduction of infection and in positive increase of health outcomes.
Aims & Objectives
To develop an understanding of the home as a source of infection of AMR bacteria carried by dust, by exploring hygiene practices across different home environments in Ghana, with the ultimate aim to reduce bacterial infection in the home environment thereby reducing AMR.
Motivation
Bacteria are made up of pathogens (bad germs) and non-pathogens (good germs) and are generally found across the home. Most surfaces are covered to a certain degree with bacteria, but dust can move easily around the home and presents a major route for human exposure to bacterial infections.
Latest
Dust Bunny’s unique research methodology published by the Design Journal
The unique and truly multidisciplinary research methodology employed by the Dust Bunny research team has been published in the Design Journal. The paper is entitled ‘Combining design research with microbiology to tackle drug-resistant infections in different home environments in Ghana:…
Microbiology data analysis to be completed soon
Following the collection of dust data samples from the 12 households participating in the study, the team has been analysing them used different microbiology analyses. This will help determine if the bacterial strains being identified are of public health importance…
Community and experts pave the way for new Global Health project
In a co-design workshop run in February in Accra, representatives of the communities participating in the Dust Bunny project and experts (public health, epidemiology, behavioural psychology, etc) came together to co-develop an interdisciplinary research project addressing infectious disease in the…
Engaging with community and experts in Accra
The Dust Bunny team run engagement workshops in the second week of February in Accra, Ghana. The workshops engaged with members of the community who are participating in the project as well as Ghanian external to the project public health…
The Dust Bunny team is hosting a dissemination workshop in Ghana
Dust Bunny is a 2-year UK funded research project that applies innovative design research methods coupled with microbiological analyses to address issues of home-based infections in Ghana, particularly those carrying antimicrobial resistance, resulting in a reduction of infection and in…
