Maltese Antibiotic Stewardship Programme in the Community (MASPIC): protocol of a prospective quasiexperimental social marketing intervention.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Antibiotic misuse is a key driver of antibiotic resistance. In 2015/2016, Maltese respondents reported the highest proportions of antibiotic consumption in Europe. Since antibiotics are prescription-only medicines in Malta, research on effective strategies targeting general practitioners' (GPs) knowledge and behaviour is needed. Multifaceted behaviour change (BC) interventions are likely to be effective. Social marketing (SM) can provide the tools to promote sustained BC; however, its utilisation in Europe is limited. This paper aims to describe the design and methods of a multifaceted SM intervention aimed at changing Maltese GPs' antibiotic prescribing behaviour for patients with acute respiratory tract infections (aRTIs).

Methods and analysis

This 4-year quas

SUBMITTER: Saliba-Gustafsson EA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5623537 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature