Using qualitative methods to understand antibiotic prescribing

In this presentation, Dr Esmita Charani will summarise the existing research that has been conducted at Imperial (and elsewhere). The aim was to better understand how qualitative research inquiry can provide unique and fresh insights into social factors that can influence antibiotic prescribing behaviours and shape intervention outcomes.

There is a lot of pressure on health care professionals to know when, how and what antibiotics they should be prescribing. Some of the messages sent to clinicians can be conflicting. It is important to be able to use social science methods to see how we can understand the decision-making process of clinicians.

When first looking at research, it was found that the topic lacked huge amounts of qualitative research and so at Imperial a study was followed with qualitative face-to-face interviews. The key findings from this were that antibiotic prescribing is a behaviour; it is a non-linear, complex and dynamic process that involves many actors and actions, and it is not a single act at a given time.

Please find a pdf of the PowerPoint slides in the downloads section below.

In the comments below please let us know:

• Has ethnography ever been used as a research method in your healthcare setting?
• What was being investigated?