Supporting the Improvement and Management of Prescribing for Urinary Tract Infections (SIMPle): Protocol for a Randomised Complex Intervention

Today, 80% of antimicrobial prescribing takes place in the community by general practitioners (GPs). Ireland is one of only three countries in Europe where the level of outpatient antimicrobial prescribing is increasing. Within this context, the inappropriate and overprescription of antimicrobials by GPs is a recognized factor contributing to the spread of AMR. The Guidelines for Antimicrobial Prescribing in Primary Care in Ireland provide advice on the selection of antimicrobial drugs for common infections and recommend the use of specific antimicrobials, with reserved drugs for more serious infections. However, despite the widespread availability of these guidelines, recent research has identified that less than 40% of outpatient prescriptions for urinary tract infections (UTIs) are made out according to first-line recommendations.

Urinary tract infections are predominantly caused by a bacteria; Escherichia coli, and are generally treated empirically, prior to the results of antimicrobial susceptibility testing. Antimicrobial resistance is now a critical factor in the treatment of UTIs, the second most common bacterial infection in primary care.

Social marketing is the conceptual framework that guided the development of this intervention. Formative (qualitative) research explored the culture of antimicrobial prescribing from both the GP's and the patient's perspective. Through a series of interviews with GPs (n = 15) and focus groups with patients (n = 35), the predictors of a GP's decision to prescribe an antimicrobial and the patient's expectation to receive an antimicrobial were explored.

The aim of SIMPle was to design, implement and evaluate the effectiveness of a complex intervention on GP antimicrobial prescribing and adult (18 years of age and over) patients' antimicrobial consumption when presenting with a suspected UTI. The primary outcome was to increase the number of first-line antimicrobial prescriptions, as recommended in the Guidelines for Antimicrobial Prescribing in Primary Care in Ireland (2011), for suspected UTIs in primary care by 10% in adult patients.

Methods The cluster for this intervention is the practice, and all GPs within each practice will be invited to participate. The baseline population for recruitment of patients will be formed by all practices in the West of Ireland who submit urine samples to the Galway University Hospitals (GUH) laboratory. The most popular patient management software system was chosen, because the SIMPle study builds on remote data extraction, the provision of audit and feedback reports and computer prompts integrated within the GP's patient management software system. This study will be undertaken in four phases: Phase 1, baseline data collection; Phase 2, GP intervention; Phase 3, patient intervention and Phase 4, endpoint data collection. Computerized remote data extraction is facilitated by the Irish Primary Care Research Network (iPCRN) and patient data are identified through the appropriate coding of suspected UTI consultations in the patient management software system. To promote and encourage consultation coding, which is currently not routine practice, the intervention will be preceded by a coding workshop at the beginning of Phase 1. All practices will be required to register with the iPCRN during or before the coding workshop. Practices will be monitored for two months after the delivery of the workshop to establish uptake of coding, whilst also facilitating a baseline data collection period (Phase 1). Phase 2 will begin with an interactive workshop (intervention arms A and B), which will introduce the intervention components specific to each arm. Phase 3 will see the roll-out of the patient education in all of the practices. The antimicrobial prescribing within each practice will be monitored for six months during Phases 2 and 3 through audit and feedback reports. Evaluation of the impact of the intervention will be carried out in Phase 4.