Effect of Antibiotic Stewardship Education on Provider Self-Efficacy

Abstract

Antibiotic resistance is a major global health concern that affects millions of people, causes thousands of deaths, and cost billions of dollars annually. Inappropriate antibiotic prescribing is a major contributor to antibiotic resistance and many providers report barriers to consistently implementing appropriate antibiotic prescribing practices. To promote the appropriate use of antibiotics, antibiotic stewardship is key. Antibiotic stewardship encourages providers to follow evidence-based prescribing to improve patient outcomes by promoting the appropriate use of antibiotics, reducing microbial resistance, and decreasing the spread of infection. Antibiotic stewardship education has been shown to improve providers’ antibiotic prescribing practices and inherently improve their level of self-efficacy when prescribing antibiotics. The purpose of this quasi-experimental exempt research project was to determine if antibiotic stewardship education improves provider self-efficacy in appropriate antibiotic prescribing. The research project surveyed 21 Advanced Practice Providers on social media who routinely prescribe antibiotics in Kansas City, Missouri. The project intervention included a survey measuring providers’ level of self-efficacy related to appropriate antibiotic prescribing and was administered before and after an antibiotic stewardship educational video. The results of this study found that antibiotic stewardship education improved providers’ self-efficacy in appropriate antibiotic prescribing by 4.33%.