E-PAUse: Encouraging Proper Antibiotic Use in Outpatient Setting

Specific Aim 1: To determine the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of PHCC physicians regarding appropriate prescription of antibiotics in the outpatient setting. Hypothesis 1a: PHCC physicians will have adequate theoretical knowledge regarding use of antibiotics for upper respiratory tract infections. Hypothesis 1b: Despite adequate theoretical knowledge, fear of complications of untreated infection and patient demand and expectations will drive inappropriate antibiotic prescription for upper respiratory tract infections Specific Aim 2: To test the effectiveness of a comprehensive multi-component intervention in a cluster randomized trial upon rate of antibiotics prescription for upper respiratory tract infections in individuals aged \> 2 years presenting to primary care by PHCC physicians Hypothesis 2: Compared with a single intervention, a comprehensive multi-component intervention package will be associated with a significant reduction in inappropriate antibiotic prescription. Investigators will conduct this study in the Primary Healthcare Center (PHCC) setting in Qatar. Investigators will identify four large PHCCs from the existing active centers. The study has 2 parts. Part 1 corresponds to specific aim 1 and comprises of a KAP survey which will be carried out in all four PHCCs and will include all physicians. Part 2 corresponds to specific aim 2 and is a cluster randomized clinical trial in which Investigators will randomize the four PHCCs into two groups. First group (2 PHCCs) will receive training in appropriate documentation of infections and antibiotics prescription and will continue to provide usual care. Second group (2 PHCCs) will receive the comprehensive multi-component intervention, which consists of four elements: 1. Option for deferred prescription fulfilment; 2. Education of staff regarding appropriate uses of antibiotics, 3. algorithm-driven decision support tool, 4. Feedback on individual and group performance.

NCT Number	NCT06135376
Lead Sponsor	Hamad Medical Corporation Collaborators: Primary Health Care Corporation, Qatar
Conditions	Drug Use
Enrollment	100,000 participants
Start Date	2023-12-01
Primary Completion	2024-10-31 (estimated)
Study Completion	2026-04-30 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2025-04-03