ArticleBMC primary care2023
Perceptions and attitudes regarding delayed antibiotic prescription for respiratory tract infections: a qualitative study.
Article in BMC primary care, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 3 citations in OpenAlex.
- Factors influencing physicians' antimicrobial prescribing decisions: A systematic review of qualitative studies.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2025Pooled 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
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAntibiotics are overprescribed for respiratory tract infections (RTIs). However, the decision to prescribe is often complex. Delayed antibiotic prescription (DAP), a strategy designed to promote more rational antibiotic use, is still not widely used. The aim of this study was to explore perceptions and attitudes in primary care professionals, regarding antibiotic use and different DAP strategies for uncomplicated RTIs.
methodsWe conducted a qualitative study, using an inductive thematic approach to generate themes, based on focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews with professionals, recruited from 6 primary care centres (Barcelona metropolitan area, Spain).
results26 professionals (25 family physicians and one nurse) were included in four focus group discussions and three semi-structured interviews. Participants commented that RTIs were a main reason for consultation, motivated often by patient anxiety and fear of possible complications, and this was associated with the patients' poor health-related education. Acknowledging inappropriate antibiotic use in the health system, participants attributed this, mainly to defensive medicine strategies. DAP was used when in doubt about the aetiology, and considering factors related to patient-physician interactions. The main perceived advantage of DAP was that it could reduce the need for additional visits, while the main disadvantage was uncertainty regarding proper use by the patient.
conclusionsDAP was used by participants in cases of doubt, in specific situations, and for specific patient profiles. Weak points were detected in our primary care system and its users that affect the proper use of both antibiotics and DAP, namely, time pressure on professionals, poor patient health-related education, and the lack of a patient-physician relationship in some scenarios.
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