Nudging Guideline-concordant Antibiotic Prescribing Using Public Commitments

Completed · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Acute Respiratory Infections (ARIs)

In brief

Inappropriate antibiotic prescribing for acute respiratory infections (ARIs) persists despite decades of intervention efforts. Negative outcomes of inappropriate antibiotics include increased costs of care, adverse drug reactions, and rising prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. To address this public health problem, we apply the principles of commitment and consistency in an effort to influence clinician decision-making through the implementation of a low-cost behavioral "nudge" in the form of a simple public commitment device. Clinicians were asked to post in their exam room a signed letter indicating their commitments to reducing inappropriate antibiotic use for ARIs. Our hypothesis is that clinicians displaying the poster-sized commitment letters will decrease their inappropriate antibiotic prescribing for ARIs as compared to clinicians in the control condition (with no posted letter).

Key facts

Study ID

NCT01767064

Run by

University of Southern California

People needed

14

Starts

2012-02-01

Expected to finish

2013-05-01

Last updated by the study team

2017-08-10

Who can join

Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Medical professionals licensed to provide care and prescribe medications (including antibiotics)
• Treating adult patients (18 years of age and older) from 5 Los Angeles community clinics

You may not qualify if…

• none

Where it is running

• QueensCare Family Clinics — Los Angeles, California, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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