1. Antimicrobial Resistance Education in the Primary Care Setting.
- Author
-
Oesterle, Jenna, Sternemann, Meghan, Sande, Tiffany, Aplin-Kalisz, Christina, and Towers, Diane
- Subjects
GENERAL practitioners ,ANALYSIS of variance ,ANTI-infective agents ,BRONCHITIS ,CHI-squared test ,DRUG resistance in microorganisms ,DRUG utilization ,DRUG prescribing ,RESEARCH methodology ,PAMPHLETS ,PATIENT education ,PHARYNGITIS ,PRIMARY health care ,RESPIRATORY infections ,STATISTICAL sampling ,SINUSITIS ,PHYSICIAN practice patterns ,DATA analysis software ,DESCRIPTIVE statistics ,SYMPTOMS ,EDUCATION - Abstract
Background: Antimicrobial resistance has become a problem of epidemic proportions; however, patients believe antibiotics can treat any infection (National Committee for Quality Assurance [NCQA], 2011). Judicious prescribing practices are known to decrease antimicrobial resistance in the community (Centers for Disease Control [CDC], 2012). Purpose: Primary care providers (PCPs) are in a position to change current prescribing practices and patient beliefs regarding antimicrobials. This project focused on a PCP-facilitated educational intervention. Design/Methods: A quasi-experimental chart review performed over 3 months. PCPs were educated on CDC treatment guidelines for acute bronchitis, sinusitis, pharyngitis, and the educational pamphlet. The PCPs provided a brief educational session with the pamphlet to patients presenting with upper respiratory infections (URIs). Sample: A convenience sample of patients 18–64 years old presenting with URI symptoms; data were collected on antibiotic prescriptions, patient demographics, comorbid diagnoses, and discharge diagnosis. Results: Antibiotic prescribing rates for patient's pre- to postintervention decreased significantly from 77.9% to 61.6% (1, N = 163) = 0.02, p <.05. Improved adherence to guidelines from pre- to postintervention for bronchitis was demonstrated yet no statistically significant improvement for pharyngitis and sinusitis. Conclusion: A PCP-facilitated educational intervention demonstrated an effective method to reduce antibiotic prescriptions for URIs in primary care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2016
- Full Text
- View/download PDF