Cross-sectoral synergy governance programme for antimicrobial resistance control in China using a 'One Health' approach: study protocol for a mixed-methods study.

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a critical global public health concern, particularly acute in rural China. Counties, which cover extensive rural regions, face major challenges in AMR governance and thus require priority attention. Yet, AMR governance efforts across sectors are fragmented, with notable gaps in translating policy objectives into sustainable, practical governance measures. This programme will entail a series of studies focusing on county-level cross-sectoral synergy governance for AMR, aiming to identify optimal synergy governance strategies to curb AMR. The study comprises three phases: (1) understanding and exploring the state of cross-sectoral synergy governance and its internal mechanisms; (2) empirically evaluating AMR synergy governance capability using a developed evaluation indicator tool; and (3) identifying optimal AMR synergy governance strategies through a simulation and prediction model. Phase I involves conducting a content analysis of policy documents and semistructured interviews to understand and explore the state of cross-sectoral synergy governance and internal mechanisms. An evaluation indicator tool for AMR synergy governance capability will be developed through a two-round modified Delphi survey, hierarchical analysis process and percentage weighting method, with a typical case analysis being used for empirical evaluation in phase II. Phase III entails developing a simulation and prediction model using a series of artificial intelligence technologies, such as distributed Scrapy crawler technology, large language models, generative adversarial networks and deep multilayer models, all aimed at identifying optimal AMR synergy governance strategies. This study was approved by the ethics committee of the Centre for Health Management and Policy Research, Shandong University (No. ECSHCMSDU20240904). The results of the studies will be submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals, presented at national and international academic conferences.