Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)

Recent data show that Americans visit the doctor approximately 12 million times each year to get checked for suspected staphylococci or MRSA skin infections. It appears that more people in the US now die from MRSA, especially healthcare acquired, than from HIV/AIDS. MRSA incidence and low levels of literacy about antibiotic resistant infections in the general public, are on a collision course. The health implications for society are startling and this brewing public health storm should be a wake-up call for all involved in the prevention and treatment of MRSA and other antibiotic resistant infections. Traditional medical approaches to infection control, antibiotic prescribing and usage, and how the healthcare practitioner relates to the public, are no longer adequate. This book, therefore, provides a new model of how a person with MRSA in the general public learns and adapts to the infection. The experiences of the ten participants in this study have emerged to create critical implications for practice and research. The analysis should shed new light on this alarming public health threat, and should be especially useful to healthcare providers, health educators, and policy makers.