Educational intervention to enhance adherence to short-term use of antibiotics

Non-adherence to short-term antibiotics is considered to be one of the factors leading to medicines wastage, and this can increase misuse of medicine taking, promote antibiotic resistance and cause environmental pollution. Interventions developed to enhance adherence to short-term antibiotics should be easily implementable into daily practice. No studies utilising Normalization Process Theory to develop interventions aiming to enhance adherence to antibiotics were identified.

To assess whether an intervention supported by an educational leaflet enhances adherence and reduces cost in relation to wastage of unused antibiotics amongst patients taking short-term antibiotics in community; and to determine a possible association between adherence and patients' general medicines' beliefs.

Fourteen community pharmacies were randomly selected: seven pharmacies used an educational leaflet (intervention) to counsel patients; seven pharmacies acted as control. Patients with an antibiotic prescription were recruited until 200 patients per group was reached. Two focus groups based on Normalization Process Theory were held with pharmacists from the intervention group to refine the leaflet. After finishing the antibiotics, patients were contacted to assess adherence, storage, knowledge about antibiotic resistance and beliefs about medicines using 'Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire-General' (BMQ-General).

Ten percent from intervention group and 24% from control were non-adherent (p = < 0.0005), with a 2.8-fold more in the percentage cost of wasted antibiotics in control group. 'General-benefit' belief was significantly higher for intervention group (p = 0.044). For control group, higher 'general-overuse' beliefs were significantly associated with non-adherence (p = <0.0005).

An educational intervention has significantly enhanced adherence to prescribed short-term antibiotics and reduced wastage.