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Research article
Hosein Azizi
Tabriz University of Medical Sciences
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4163-6158
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
Background: Mal-prescription of antibiotics is a major and ongoing global public health problem both in developing and developed countries. Family physicians are the most important and dominant health services providers in Iran their prescription pattern is poorly understood. This study aimed to assess the pattern and factors affecting antibiotic prescribing by family physicians in primary health care (PHC).
Methods: In this descriptive-analytical study, 1068 prescriptions of family physicians in PHC were assessed in Alborz province health facilities. Prescriptions were selected by simple random sampling. The mal-prescribing was assessed based on four criteria including dose per consumption, dose per day, correct duration of therapy and possible interaction with other drugs. Logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratio and 95% confidence interval for the association between antibiotic prescription and the affecting factors.
Results: The average number of antibiotics was found 1.27 per prescription and 56.8% of the prescriptions had at least one antibiotic. There was a statistically significant relationship between age, gender, type of health insurance, work experience of physician, seasons of the year and receiving antibiotics (P<0.05). In 59.31% of antibiotic prescriptions at least one of the scientific criteria was not satisfied.
Conclusion: The number of prescribed antibiotics and the mal-prescription percentage were high among family physicians. Strong political commitment and altering physicians' training curricula especially promoting a preventive approach and developing a registration system for identifying adverse drug reactions, antibiotic use patterns and control of mal-prescription are imperative at the grass-root level.
Keywords
Antibiotics prescription, Family physicians, Primary health care, Mal-prescribing, Iran
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A new preprint design is coming!
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This is a preprint, a preliminary version of a manuscript that has not completed peer review at a journal. Research Square does not conduct peer review prior to posting preprints. The posting of a preprint on this server should not be interpreted as an endorsement of its validity or suitability for dissemination as established information or for guiding clinical practice.
Research article
Hosein Azizi
Tabriz University of Medical Sciences
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4163-6158
Badges
Prescreen
This manuscript passed our Prescreen assessment
Complete author information
Appropriate declaration statements
Potential risks to human health
Prescreen
History
CURRENT STATUS: Posted
Version 2
Posted 17 May, 2020
No community comments so far
No comments provided
Metrics
Comments: 0
PDF Downloads: ...
HTML Views: ...
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
Background: Mal-prescription of antibiotics is a major and ongoing global public health problem both in developing and developed countries. Family physicians are the most important and dominant health services providers in Iran their prescription pattern is poorly understood. This study aimed to assess the pattern and factors affecting antibiotic prescribing by family physicians in primary health care (PHC).
Methods: In this descriptive-analytical study, 1068 prescriptions of family physicians in PHC were assessed in Alborz province health facilities. Prescriptions were selected by simple random sampling. The mal-prescribing was assessed based on four criteria including dose per consumption, dose per day, correct duration of therapy and possible interaction with other drugs. Logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratio and 95% confidence interval for the association between antibiotic prescription and the affecting factors.
Results: The average number of antibiotics was found 1.27 per prescription and 56.8% of the prescriptions had at least one antibiotic. There was a statistically significant relationship between age, gender, type of health insurance, work experience of physician, seasons of the year and receiving antibiotics (P<0.05). In 59.31% of antibiotic prescriptions at least one of the scientific criteria was not satisfied.
Conclusion: The number of prescribed antibiotics and the mal-prescription percentage were high among family physicians. Strong political commitment and altering physicians' training curricula especially promoting a preventive approach and developing a registration system for identifying adverse drug reactions, antibiotic use patterns and control of mal-prescription are imperative at the grass-root level.
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