Using qualitative insights to change practice: exploring the culture of antibiotic prescribing and consumption for XXXX .

@entity1 @entity293
OBJECTIVES: The aim of this paper is to explore the culture of antibiotic prescribing and consumption in the community for @entity293 ( @entity293 ) from the perspective of the general practitioners (GPs) and community member. DESIGN: Indepth interviews were conducted with GPs, and focus groups were held with community members. SETTING: General practice and community setting. @entity1 : 15 GPs practising in rural and urban locations in Ireland participated in the indepth interviews. 6 focus groups (n=42) with @entity1 who had direct or indirect experiences with @entity293 were also undertaken. RESULTS: The decision to prescribe or consume an antibiotic for a @entity293 is a set of complex processes including need recognition, information search and evaluation processes governed by the relationship and interactions between the GP and the @entity1 . Different GP and @entity1 decision-making profiles emerged emphasising the diversity and variety of general practice in real-life settings. The GP findings showed a requirement for more microbiological information on antibiotic resistance patterns to inform prescribing decisions. Focus group @entity1 wanted a conversation with the GP about their illness and the treatment options available. CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, this research identified the consultation as a priority intervention environment for stimulating change in relation to antibiotics. This paper demonstrates how qualitative research can identify the interacting processes which are instrumental to the decision to prescribe or consume an antibiotic for a suspected @entity293 . Qualitative research empowers researchers to investigate the what, how and why of interventions in real-life setting. Qualitative research can play a critical and instrumental role in designing behavioural change strategies with high impact on practice. The results of this research were used to design a complex intervention informed by social marketing. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT01913860; Pre-results.
