ArticleBMJ open2016
Why do general practitioners prescribe antibiotics for upper respiratory tract infections to meet patient expectations: a mixed methods study.
Article in BMJ open, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 117 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
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Who cites it
117 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 221 citations in OpenAlex.
- Diagnostic accuracy of point-of-care tests for acute respiratory infection: a systematic review of reviews.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2026Pooled it
- Assessment of global antimicrobial resistance campaigns conducted to improve public awareness and antimicrobial use behaviours: a rapid systematic review.BMC public health · 2024Pooled it
- Factors contributing to the variation in antibiotic prescribing among primary health care physicians: a systematic review.BMC primary care · 2024Pooled it
- Physicians', pharmacists', and nurses' education of patients about antibiotic use and antimicrobial resistance in primary care settings: a qualitative systematic literature review.Frontiers in antibiotics · 2024Pooled it
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- Clinicians' perspectives on a primary healthcare intervention to reduce antibiotic prescription for acute lower respiratory tract infections in Barcelona (Spain): a qualitative study.Primary health care research & development · 2025Trial
- Reducing Expectations for Antibiotics in Patients With Upper Respiratory Tract Infections: A Primary Care Randomized Controlled Trial.Annals of family medicineTrial
- The decision-making process in general practice of when to use antibiotics to treat acute rhinosinusitis.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2026Article
- Antibiotic stewardship in simple hand trauma: an audit and literature review.Irish journal of medical science · 2026Review
- Barriers and enablers to using evidence-based antibiotic prescription guidelines in primary care: a qualitative systematic review and synthesis using the theoretical domains framework.Implementation science communications · 2026Review
- Real-world impact of point-of-care testing for SARS-CoV-2 in an ambulatory setting of an integrated health network.Antimicrobial stewardship & healthcare epidemiology : ASHE · 2026Article
- Empiric treatment and probability estimates before and after a decision support system intervention in a sore throat setting: a scenario-based survey study.BMC infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Public knowledge and attitudes towards antibiotic use across England - pre- and post-pandemic.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Routine data registries as a basis to analyse and improve the quality of antimicrobial prescription in primary care.BMC primary care · 2025Article
- Article
- Specialty and age-based differences in awareness and attitudes towards antibiotic stewardship: a cross-sectional online survey on Japanese clinic physicians.BMC infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Association between prescription patterns and primary care clinic closures in South Korea: A longitudinal retrospective cohort study.BMC primary care · 2025Article
- Rational Antibiotic Use in Office Practice.Indian journal of pediatrics · 2025Review
- Quality and reliability of pediatric pneumonia related short videos on mainstream platforms: cross-sectional study.BMC public health · 2025Article
57 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 4 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo describe the role patient expectations play in general practitioners (GPs) antibiotic prescribing for upper respiratory tract infections (URTI).
methodsConcurrent explanatory mixed methods approach using a cross-sectional survey and semistructured interviews. SETTINGS: Primary care GPs in Australia.
participants584 GPs (response rate of 23.6%) completed the cross-sectional survey. 32 GPs were interviewed individually. OUTCOME MEASURE: Prescribing of antibiotics for URTI.
resultsMore than half the GP respondents to the survey in Australia self-reported that they would prescribe antibiotics for an URTI to meet patient expectations. Our qualitative findings suggest that 'patient expectations' may be the main reason given for inappropriate prescribing, but it is an all-encompassing phrase that includes other reasons. These include limited time, poor doctor-patient communication and diagnostic uncertainty. We have identified three role archetypes to explain the behaviour of GPs in reference to antibiotic prescribing for URTIs. The main themes emerging from the qualitative component was that many GPs did not think that antibiotic prescribing in primary care was responsible for the development of antibiotic resistance nor that their individual prescribing would make any difference in light of other bigger issues like hospital prescribing or veterinary use. For them, there were negligible negative consequences from their inappropriate prescribing.
conclusionsThere is a need to increase awareness of the scope and magnitude of antibiotic resistance and the role primary care prescribing plays, and of the contribution of individual prescribing decisions to the problem of antibiotic resistance.
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