New review highlights gaps in online antifungal stewardship education

Antifungal resistance is an increasing global health concern, yet antifungal stewardship remains less developed than antibacterial stewardship. Education is essential if healthcare professionals are to use antifungal medicines appropriately and translate guidance into everyday clinical practice.

A new open-access review, co-authored by Dr Riina Rautemaa-Richardson, has examined the online education resources currently available for antifungal stewardship.

The review identified 23 eligible online resources. While these provide a valuable starting point, the findings suggest that the current educational offer is limited in both scale and depth.

Over half of the resources lasted under four hours and almost half were unfacilitated. Most focused on clinical guidelines or syndromic management, rather than the wider practical challenges of delivering stewardship in real settings. Interactivity was limited in many courses, and only 22% of resources contained substantial or comprehensive antifungal stewardship content.

The authors highlight the need for future education to be more practical, engaging and globally adaptable. In particular, they call for more case-based learning and greater emphasis on implementation and behaviour change—helping professionals not only understand recommendations, but apply them confidently in practice.

Strengthening antifungal stewardship education will be an important part of the response to antifungal resistance and the safe, effective use of these essential medicines.

Read the full open-access paper: A full review of online education resources available on antifungal stewardship