Abstract
Background
Over 80% of antibiotics are prescribed in primary care, and research indicates many antibiotics are prescribed 'inappropriately', that is, in the absence of a documented bacterial infection. This leads to individual and population level antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which has been recognized as a global threat to health. Changing GP and patient behaviours is one of the strategies which can be used to tackle the issue. The Innovation Lab was asked by the Public Health Agency (PHA) to run a project to test behavioural interventions in primary care to reduce inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics.
Aim
We will showcase the practicalities of our collaboration across organisations and disciplines and discuss some of the results of the project.
Methods
We will discuss how we scoped, developed and delivered this project. We will focus on the following areas.
1. How we built relationships between the Innovation Lab, the Northern Ireland Department of Health, the NI Health and Social Care Board, and the PHA. In particular, we will discuss how we engaged with senior staff in those organisations and the wider AMR community in Northern Ireland, and how we achieved buy-in for a project based on behavioural science.
2. How we developed a collaborative project which used the skills and experience of all partners, the activities which we undertook, and the tools which enabled the collaboration to work.
3. How we engaged with and conducted behaviourally informed research with prescribers, particularly how we designed and evaluated an online survey based on the COM-B model of behaviour change, and how we conducted a systematic review to understand the evidence base.
4. The next phase of the project: how we will use the Behaviour Change Wheel to design and evaluate an intervention using behaviour change techniques.
Results:
1. Systematic review of behavioural interventions focused
on AMR in primary care.
2. A survey of antibiotic prescribers in primary care in September and October 2017. Analysis is underway and results will be ready to present at PHA-hosted antibiotic awareness conference in November 2017.
3. The results of this phase of research will be used to develop a behaviour change intervention using BCTs and Intervention functions, which will be piloted and formally trialled across primary care in Northern Ireland in 2018.
Conclusions
As far as we are aware, this is the first time a behavioural analysis of antibiotic prescribing in primary care has been undertaken in Northern Ireland. We will present our working practices and results of the survey for this project, demonstrating how COM-B has been used in a public sector and government setting to generate and test new ideas to change antibiotic prescriber patterns in primary care.
Over 80% of antibiotics are prescribed in primary care, and research indicates many antibiotics are prescribed 'inappropriately', that is, in the absence of a documented bacterial infection. This leads to individual and population level antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which has been recognized as a global threat to health. Changing GP and patient behaviours is one of the strategies which can be used to tackle the issue. The Innovation Lab was asked by the Public Health Agency (PHA) to run a project to test behavioural interventions in primary care to reduce inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics.
Aim
We will showcase the practicalities of our collaboration across organisations and disciplines and discuss some of the results of the project.
Methods
We will discuss how we scoped, developed and delivered this project. We will focus on the following areas.
1. How we built relationships between the Innovation Lab, the Northern Ireland Department of Health, the NI Health and Social Care Board, and the PHA. In particular, we will discuss how we engaged with senior staff in those organisations and the wider AMR community in Northern Ireland, and how we achieved buy-in for a project based on behavioural science.
2. How we developed a collaborative project which used the skills and experience of all partners, the activities which we undertook, and the tools which enabled the collaboration to work.
3. How we engaged with and conducted behaviourally informed research with prescribers, particularly how we designed and evaluated an online survey based on the COM-B model of behaviour change, and how we conducted a systematic review to understand the evidence base.
4. The next phase of the project: how we will use the Behaviour Change Wheel to design and evaluate an intervention using behaviour change techniques.
Results:
1. Systematic review of behavioural interventions focused
on AMR in primary care.
2. A survey of antibiotic prescribers in primary care in September and October 2017. Analysis is underway and results will be ready to present at PHA-hosted antibiotic awareness conference in November 2017.
3. The results of this phase of research will be used to develop a behaviour change intervention using BCTs and Intervention functions, which will be piloted and formally trialled across primary care in Northern Ireland in 2018.
Conclusions
As far as we are aware, this is the first time a behavioural analysis of antibiotic prescribing in primary care has been undertaken in Northern Ireland. We will present our working practices and results of the survey for this project, demonstrating how COM-B has been used in a public sector and government setting to generate and test new ideas to change antibiotic prescriber patterns in primary care.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication status | Published - 22 Feb 2018 |
| Event | CBC Conference 2018 - Behaviour Change for Health: Digital and Beyond - Senate House, London, United Kingdom Duration: 21 Feb 2018 → 22 Feb 2018 http://www.ucl.ac.uk/behaviour-change/cbc-events/conf-2018 |
Conference
| Conference | CBC Conference 2018 - Behaviour Change for Health: Digital and Beyond |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | United Kingdom |
| City | London |
| Period | 21/02/2018 → 22/02/2018 |
| Internet address |
