From ignorance to awareness: Quality of collaborative governance enhances public awareness of AMR

Abstract

In representative democracies, the public administration plays a pivotal role in managing a myriad of public policies. While considerable knowledge exists regarding how public issue awareness influences political competition before policy enactment, its persistence in the administrative aftermath is characterized by much more uncertainty. This study addresses this puzzle within the challenging context of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) governance in Europe, posing the question: How does administrative governance shape public AMR awareness? Drawing on newly collected expert survey data from all EU member states and a recent Eurobarometer survey measuring behavioral aspects related to AMR (N = 26.502), the findings show that different aspects of administrative governance yield mixed results. Notably, there is a strong and positive relationship between the quality of collaborative governance and public awareness. These results underscore the critical role of administrative governance quality in understanding public behavior, particularly in the context of combating AMR.