Microlearning Reduces Unnecessary Antibiotic Provision for Open Hand Injuries

Background Antimicrobial stewardship approaches are important in managing the growing global challenge of antibiotic resistance. Microlearning describes educational interventions involving small, digestible chunks of information focussed on a single learning objective. Aim This quality improvement project aimed to improve the compliance of antibiotic administration for open hand injury referrals with national and local guidelines using a microlearning educational intervention. Method Antibiotic administration for open hand injury referrals was audited at baseline, following the creation and dissemination of an infographic displaying the indications for antibiotics, and again after the creation and dissemination of a short video providing the same information. Result The proportion of referrals with no indication for antibiotics that were given or recommended antimicrobials fell from 50.0% (22/44) to 14.3% (5/35) after dissemination of the infographic and short video. Conclusion Microlearning educational interventions are effective at improving compliance with clinical guidelines in this context.