Patient Centered Communication Training to Reduce Antibiotic Use in Acute Respiratory Tract Infections

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a short training program for general practitioners in patient-centered communication to reduce antibiotic prescription for acute respiratory tract infections (ARTI).

Detailed Description
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Acute respiratory tract infections (ARTI) constitute the most frequent reason for seeking ambulatory care and for the prescription of antibiotics, despite the mostly viral origin of ARTI. Antibiotic prescriptions for ARTI increase unnecessary drug expenditures and are the main reason for increasing drug resistance of common bacteria. Evidence from intervention studies shows that merely providing physicians with guidelines and educational material for the management of acute respiratory tract infections is not enough to reduce antibiotic prescriptions for these conditions. The main reasons for antibiotic prescription in ARTI are non-medical and related to the physician patient relationship, patients' expectations and beliefs about the benefit of antibiotics. Therefore patient-centered communication could be a promising approach to reduce the rate of antibiotic prescription in ambulatory care. Comparison: General practitioners (GPs) trained in patient-centered communication in addition to evidence-based guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of ARTI compared to GPs just introduced to evidence-based guidelines.

Official Title
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Multidimensional Intervention Program to Reduce Antibiotic Prescriptions for Acute Respiratory Tract Infections in Adults: a Randomized Controlled Trial in Primary Care

Conditions
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Respiratory Tract Infections

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: patient-centered communication training


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: 18 years or older Symptoms of an acute respiratory tract infection for >1 and <28 days Exclusion Criteria: Patients without informed consent Not fluent in German Patients with a psychiatric disorder Patients with a recurrent respiratory system infection with antibiotic treatment in the previous 4 weeks

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Intervention/Treatment |
| --- |
|Behavioral: patient-centered communication training|nan|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Up-take of antibiotic prescription confirmed by pharmacists within 2 weeks following the initial consultation |  |  | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Patient satisfaction with consultation (on validated scale) |  |  | 
| patient enablement (on validated scale) |  |  | 
| days with restriction from ARTI within 14 days initial consultation |  |  | 
| side effects from medication |  |  | 
| re-consultation rates |  |  | 
| days off from work |  |  | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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acute repiratory infections, antibiotic therapy, patient-centred communication, randomized controlled trial