A Multifaceted Intervention to Improve Prescribing for Acute Respiratory Infection for Adults and Children in Emergency Department and Urgent Care Settings

In this proposed acute care project, the investigators will compare a package consisting of education for providers using existing materials from Center for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) GetSmart campaign adapted for the acute care setting led by a physician champion at each site (the adapted intervention), to a more intensive intervention that incorporates adapted GetSmart materials enhanced with individualized audit and feedback, peer comparisons, and behavioral nudges (the enhanced intervention). The comparative effectiveness of the enhanced intervention will be evaluated in a multicenter cluster randomized trial nested within a quasi-experimental study of acute care stewardship. The investigators' hypothesis is that both interventions will reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing for antibiotic nonresponsive acute respiratory infections (ARIs) in emergency departments and urgent care centers, but that the enhanced one will be more effective. The investigators will use an interrupted time series study design to measure the impact of their interventions against the baseline period of usual care as well as against seasonally-adjusted historical controls. The cluster randomized design for the two types of acute care stewardship interventions will allow measurement of the difference- in-differences in antibiotic prescribing rates for acute bronchitis, acute bronchiolitis, viral pharyngitis, influenza, and nonspecific upper respiratory infection (URI). Translation of proven behavioral techniques is a new and innovative approach to improving prescribing decisions. This project will expand stewardship to a new setting using innovative and effective approaches including the adaptation of behavioral techniques for emergency department (ED) and urgent care settings. The investigators will also further establish their research group as a network for developing novel tools, measuring outcomes for antimicrobial stewardship, and disseminating research findings through acute care setting-specific toolkits.