Effect of an Educational Session on Antibiotic Prescription among Primary Healthcare Physicians: An Interventional Study

Antimicrobial resistance is an increasing public health problem due to inappropriate antimicrobial use. Do educational interventions affect primary healthcare physicians� antibiotic prescription practice In this pre-post quasi-experimental interventional study, 43 primary care center Saudi Arabian physicians answered a self-administered questionnaire; institutional antibiotic guidelines and expert opinions were unanimous on factors affecting participants� antibiotic regimen. Moreover, 82 % were unaffected by patient/parent antibiotic demands. Differences in antimicrobial resistance knowledge and perception and current antimicrobial use were not significant. A significant post-intervention improvement existed in the practical knowledge of proper antimicrobial selection. All participants exhibited basic knowledge of antimicrobial use and the emerging resistance. The practical knowledge improvement through one educational session indicates the need for such programs to minimize antimicrobial resistance.