General practitioners' decision making managing uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women: a qualitative study

To be effective, interventions aimed at increasing the appropriateness of antibiotic use in primary care should consider the perspectives of prescribing physicians.

To explore the decision making of general practitioners (GPs) when managing uncomplicated urinary tract infections (uUTIs) in women.

A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews with 22 GPs in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg (southern Germany).

Verbatim transcripts were analysed through inductive qualitative content analysis.

We generated the following three main themes: factors facilitating the decision making; factors complicating the decision making; and consultation modalities. According to participants, following evidence-based recommendations makes the prescription decision smoother. GPs' and patients' prior experiences and beliefs guides decisions towards certain antibiotics, even if those experiences and beliefs contradict evidence-based recommendations. Patient expectations and demands also condition antibiotic prescribing, favouring it. Organisational constraints, such as time pressure, the day of the week (for example, before weekends), and a lower cost of antibiotics for patients than alternative treatments favour the decision to prescribe antibiotics. Diagnostic and prognostic uncertainty complicates decision making, as does scepticism towards evidence-based recommendations. Discordance within the patient-doctor relationship contributed to this complexity. Regarding consultation modalities, a more in-depth consultation and shared decision making were seen as helpful in this process.

We identified different factors as intervening against or for a straightforward management decision when dealing with women with uUTIs. They reveal the complexity behind the GPs' decision making. Providing GPs with easy-to-apply guidance while removing economic constraints to allocate sufficient consultation time, and supporting shared decision making may help GPs appropriately manage uUTIs in women.