Antibiotic Prescribing by Informal Healthcare Providers for Common Illnesses: A Repeated Cross-Sectional Study in Rural India.
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SUBMITTER: Khare S
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6783982 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:ObjectivesTo explore the healthcare-seeking pathways, antibiotic prescribing and determine the sociodemographic factors associated with healthcare-seeking behaviour (HSB) of caregivers for common illnesses in under-5 (U-5) children in rural Ujjain, India.Study designProspective cohort study.Study setting and study sampleThe cohort included 270 U-5 children from selected six villages in rural demographic surveillance site, of the R.D. Gardi Medical College, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India. A community-based cohort was visited two times weekly for over 113 weeks (August 2014 to October 2016) to record the HSB of caregivers using HSB diaries. Sociodemographic information was also solicited.Primary and secondary outcome measuresPrimary outcomes: first point of care, healthcare-seeking pathway and quantify antibiotic prescribing for the common acute illnesses.Secondary outcomeHSB risk factors were determined using mixed-effects multinomial logistic regression.ResultsA total of 60 228 HSB follow-up time points for 270 children were recorded with a total of 2161 acute illness episodes. The most common illnesses found were respiratory tract infections (RTI) (69%) and gastrointestinal tract infections (8%). No healthcare was sought in 33% of illness episodes, mostly for RTIs. The most common healthcare-seeking pathway was to informal healthcare providers (IHCPs, 49% of illness episodes). The adjusted relative risk for obtaining no treatment, home treatment and treatment by IHCPs was higher for RTIs (aRR=11.54, 1.82 and 1.29, respectively), illiterate mothers (aRR=2.86, 2.38 and 1.93, respectively), and mothers who were homemakers (aRR=2.90, 4.17 and 2.10, respectively). Socioeconomic status was associated with HSB, with the highest aRR for no treatment in the lowest two socioeconomic quintiles (aRR=6.59 and 6.39, respectively). Antibiotics were prescribed in 46% (n=670/1450) illness episodes and the majority (85%, n=572/670) were broad spectrum.ConclusionIn our rural cohort for many acute episodes of illnesses, no treatment or home treatment was done, which resulted in overall reduced antibiotic prescribing. The most common healthcare-seeking pathway was to visit IHCPs, which indicates that they are major healthcare providers in rural areas. Most of the antibiotics were prescribed by IHCPs and were commonly prescribed for illnesses where they were not indicated.
| S-EPMC8647549 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Globally, Antibiotic resistance is a major public health concern, with antibiotic use contributing significantly. Targeting informal healthcare providers (IHCPs) is important to achieve universal health coverage and effective antibiotic stewardship in resource-constrained settings. We, therefore, aimed to analyse the internal and external drivers that influence IHCPs' prescribing behaviour for common illnesses in children under five, with an emphasis on antibiotic use in rural areas of India. A total of 48 IHCPs participated in focus group discussions. Thematic framework analysis with an inductive approach was used, and findings were collated in the theoretical framework based on knowledge, attitude, and practice model which depicted that the decisions made by IHCPs while prescribing antibiotics are complex and influenced by a variety of external and internal drivers. IHCPs' internal drivers included the misconception that it is impossible to treat a patient without antibiotics and that antibiotics increase the effectiveness of other drugs and cure patients faster in order to retain them. Formal healthcare providers were the IHCPs' sources of information, which influences their antibiotic prescribing. We found when it comes to seeking healthcare in rural areas, the factors that influence their choice include 'rapid cure', 'cost of treatment', 'distance' and '24 h availability', instead of qualification, which may create pressure for IHCPs to provide a quick fix. Targeted and coordinated efforts at all levels will be needed to change the antibiotic prescribing practices of IHCPs with a focus on behaviour change and to help resolve misconceptions about antibiotics.
| S-EPMC9029264 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundTraditionally, health care-seeking for child illness is assessed through population-based and nationally representative demographic and health surveys (DHS) that are conducted once every five to seven years and are based on maternal recall. These maternal reports are subject to recall bias. Mobile phones (with the use of GPS technology) have the potential to constantly track movements of phone owners and provide high quality and more accurate data at a population level in low and middle income countries (LMICs) to assess the validity of maternal recall. We provided a group of mothers with smartphones installed with a location-aware application and visited them monthly to administer a survey questionnaire on care-seeking for diarrhoea, fever and cough with fever. This paper assesses for any reactivity to smartphones or repeated study contacts for measuring care-seeking and if this resulted in change in health care provider preference.MethodsWe enrolled 749 mothers from rural areas of Pune district in Maharashtra, India and randomly allocated them to one of three groups - a longitudinal phone group, a longitudinal control group and a cross-sectional control group. We collected baseline information from mothers, including individual and household demographic and socio-economic characteristics and care-seeking preferences for child illness. We followed up both longitudinal groups monthly and each cross-sectional sub-group once over a period of 6 months. At each follow up, we administered questions identical to those in the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) questionnaire to determine an episode of diarrhoea, fever or cough within the last 15 days, care seeking for the same, and the type of provider. The data were analysed using the ?2 test or Fisher Exact Test for categorical variables, or with the Kruskall-Wallis non-parametric test for continuous variables (due to the non-normal nature of the data). Multivariable joint models of group and visit time were analysed with logistic regression methods.ResultsAll three groups were similar in their socio-demographic characteristics at baseline. We did not observe any significant difference in care seeking for diarrhoea, fever or cough with fever between groups. Also, we did not observe any significant difference in proportion of children seeking care from the private sector.ConclusionsWe did not observe any reactivity in this study due to the presence of the phone (Hawthorne effect) or repeated study visits. The study also shows the potential of using GPS enabled smartphones to enrich DHS surveys in LMICs like India. However, further studies need to be conducted in other population groups before the findings can be generalised.
| S-EPMC6150610 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The interrelationship between the public and private sectors, and formal and informal healthcare sectors effects market-level service quality, pricing behaviour and referral networks. However, health utilisation analysis of national survey data from many low and middle income countries is constrained by the lack of disaggregated health provider data. This study is concerned with the pattern of repeat outpatient consultations for a single episode of fever from public and private qualified providers and private unqualified providers. Cross-sectional survey data from 1173 adult respondents sampled from three districts within India's most populous state-Uttar Pradesh is analysed. Data was collected during the monsoon season-September to October-in 2012. Regression analysis focuses on the pattern of repeats visits for a single episode of mild-sever fever as the dependent variable. Results show that Women and Muslims in rural north India are more likely to not access healthcare, and if they do, consult with low quality unqualified outpatient healthcare providers. For fever durations of four or more days, men are more likely to access unqualified providers compared to women. Results of the current study supports the literature that women's utilisation of outpatient healthcare for communicable illnesses in LMICs is often less than men. A relative lack of access to household resources explains why fever duration parameter estimates for women and men differ.
| S-EPMC6034796 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Inpatient providers have varying levels of knowledge in managing patients with drug and/or penicillin (PCN) allergy.Our objectives were (1) to survey inpatient providers to ascertain their baseline drug allergy knowledge and preparedness in caring for patients with PCN allergy, and (2) to assess the impact of an educational program paired with the implementation of a hospital-based clinical guideline.We electronically surveyed 521 inpatient providers at a tertiary care medical center at baseline and again 6 weeks after an educational initiative paired with clinical guideline implementation. The guideline informed providers on drug allergy history taking and antibiotic prescribing for inpatients with PCN or cephalosporin allergy.Of 323 unique responders, 42% (95% CI, 37-48%) reported no prior education in drug allergy. When considering those who responded to both surveys (n = 213), we observed a significant increase in knowledge about PCN skin testing (35% vs 54%; P < .001) and loss of PCN allergy over time (54% vs 80%; P < .0001). Among those who reported attending an educational session (n = 62), preparedness to determine if an allergy was severe significantly improved (77% vs 92%; P = .03). Other areas, including understanding absolute contraindications to receiving a drug again and PCN cross-reactivity with other antimicrobials, did not improve significantly.Inpatient providers have drug allergy knowledge deficits but are interested in tools to help them care for inpatients with drug allergies. Our educational initiative and hospital guideline implementation were associated with increased PCN allergy knowledge in several crucial areas. To improve care of inpatients with drug allergy, more research is needed to evaluate hospital policies and sustainable educational tools.
| S-EPMC4309264 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BACKGROUND: India's health sector witnessed some major policy changes in 1990s that aimed at making health services more accessible to the population. METHODS: In this paper, I tried to present some preliminary results of the significant changes that occurred between 1995/6 and 2004, especially in relation to the question of access to healthcare for the poor and rural population using data from 52nd (1995-6) and 60th round (2004) of National Sample Survey Organization on 'morbidity and healthcare'. RESULTS: The analysis suggests that overall utilization of healthcare services have declined and the odds of not seeking care due to financial inability has further increased among the poor and rural population during the period of reforms. RESULTS of the multivariate logit regression model indicate that the non-poor, middle and above educated people were having greater likelihood of using services from private health care provider. CONCLUSION: Interestingly, poor and rural residents were more likely to have used healthcare from public facilities in 2004 than in 1995-6, suggesting that the shift from private to public sector is encouraging, provided they receive good quality health care services at public facilities and do not face catastrophic health expenditures.
| S-EPMC3992787 | biostudies-other
Project description:BACKGROUND: This study examines health-related "hardship financing" in order to get better insights on how poor households finance their out-of-pocket healthcare costs. We define hardship financing as having to borrow money with interest or to sell assets to pay out-of-pocket healthcare costs. METHODS: Using survey data of 5,383 low-income households in Orissa, one of the poorest states of India, we investigate factors influencing the risk of hardship financing with the use of a logistic regression. RESULTS: Overall, about 25% of the households (that had any healthcare cost) reported hardship financing during the year preceding the survey. Among households that experienced a hospitalization, this percentage was nearly 40%, but even among households with outpatient or maternity-related care around 25% experienced hardship financing.Hardship financing is explained not merely by the wealth of the household (measured by assets) or how much is spent out-of-pocket on healthcare costs, but also by when the payment occurs, its frequency and its duration (e.g. more severe in cases of chronic illnesses). The location where a household resides remains a major predictor of the likelihood to have hardship financing despite all other household features included in the model. CONCLUSIONS: Rural poor households are subjected to considerable and protracted financial hardship due to the indirect and longer-term deleterious effects of how they cope with out-of-pocket healthcare costs. The social network that households can access influences exposure to hardship financing. Our findings point to the need to develop a policy solution that would limit that exposure both in quantum and in time. We therefore conclude that policy interventions aiming to ensure health-related financial protection would have to demonstrate that they have reduced the frequency and the volume of hardship financing.
| S-EPMC3317855 | biostudies-other
Project description:IntroductionAntibiotic misuse is widespread and contributes to antibiotic resistance, especially in less regulated health systems such as India. Although informal providers are involved with substantial segments of primary healthcare, their level of knowledge, attitudes, and practices is not well documented in the literature.ObjectivesThis quantitative study systematically examines the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of informal and formal providers with respect to antibiotic use.MethodsWe surveyed a convenience sample of 384 participants (96 allopathic doctors, 96 nurses, 96 informal providers, and 96 pharmacy shopkeepers) over a period of 8 weeks from December to February using a validated questionnaire developed in Italy. Our team created an equivalent, composite KAP score for each respondent in the survey, which was subsequently compared between providers. We then performed a multivariate logistic regression analysis to estimate the odds of having a low composite score (<80) based on occupation by comparing allopathic doctors (referent category) with all other study participants. The model was adjusted for age (included as a continuous variable) and gender.ResultsDoctors scored highest in questions assessing knowledge (77.3%) and attitudes (87.3%), but performed poorly in practices (67.6%). Many doctors knew that antibiotics were not indicated for viral infections, but over 87% (n = 82) reported prescribing them in this situation. Nurses, pharmacy shopkeepers, and informal providers were more likely to perform poorly on the survey compared to allopathic doctors (OR: 10.4, 95% CI 5.4, 20.0, p<0.01). 30.8% (n = 118) of all providers relied on pharmaceutical company representatives as a major source of information about antibiotics.ConclusionsOur findings indicate poor knowledge and awareness of antibiotic use and functions among informal health providers, and dissonance between knowledge and practices among allopathic doctors. The nexus between allopathic doctors, pharmaceutical company representatives, and informal health providers present promising avenues for future research and intervention.
| S-EPMC6544287 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major public health problem in India. We surveyed medical students to assess their knowledge, attitudes, and factors associated with confidence in antibiotic prescribing intent. In this cross-sectional study, a convenience sample of 356 students were surveyed in July-August 2017 on AMR-related knowledge, attitudes, information sources and antimicrobial training. Antimicrobial resistance knowledge and attitude scores were calculated. Bivariate analysis using the chi-square test of independence and multivariate binary logistic regression analysis were used to investigate factors associated with confidence in antibiotic prescribing intent. A total of 347 students completed the survey; 64% agreed that strong knowledge of antibiotics is important in their medical careers; 61% stated that they would like more education regarding appropriate use of antibiotics. The mean total knowledge score was 11.5 out of 31 (SD = 3.4), and the mean attitude score was 6.0 out of 16 (SD = 4.2). Although 13% of students were "very familiar"/"familiar" with the term "antimicrobial stewardship," only 35% of students felt "very confident" or "confident" in antimicrobial prescribing to patients in the future. On multivariate analysis, female gender, clinical vignette antimicrobial knowledge scores, positive attitude scores, awareness of Infection Control Policy, and > 3 years of antimicrobial prescribing clinical training were predictors of confidence in antimicrobial prescribing. A higher attitude score was independently associated with decreased confidence in antimicrobial prescribing intent. There is a need to improve education regarding AMR in the curriculum, and increase awareness of infection control policies and antimicrobial stewardship program in clinical settings.
| S-EPMC7695085 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Antibiotic overuse in the primary care setting is common. Our objective was to evaluate the effect of a clinical pathway-based intervention on antibiotic use.Eight primary care clinics were randomized to receive clinical pathways for upper respiratory infection, acute bronchitis, acute rhinosinusitis, pharyngitis, acute otitis media, urinary tract infection, skin infections, and pneumonia and patient education materials (study group) versus no intervention (control group). Generalized linear mixed effects models were used to assess trends in antibiotic prescriptions for non-pneumonia acute respiratory infections and broad-spectrum antibiotic use for all 8 conditions during a 2-year baseline and 1-year intervention period.In the study group, antibiotic prescriptions for non-pneumonia acute respiratory infections decreased from 42.7% of cases at baseline to 37.9% during the intervention period (11.2% relative reduction) (P<.0001) and from 39.8% to 38.7%, respectively, in the control group (2.8% relative reduction) (P=.25). Overall use of broad-spectrum antibiotics in the study group decreased from 26.4% to 22.6% of cases, respectively (14.4% relative reduction) (P<.0001) and from 20.0% to 19.4%, respectively, in the control group (3.0% relative reduction) (P=.35). There were significant differences in the trends of prescriptions for acute respiratory infections (P<.0001) and broad-spectrum antibiotic use (P=.001) between the study and control groups during the intervention period, with greater declines in the study group.This intervention was associated with declining antibiotic prescriptions for non-pneumonia acute respiratory infections and use of broad-spectrum antibiotics over the first year. Evaluation of the impact over a longer study period is warranted.
| S-EPMC3666348 | biostudies-literature