Implementation of a National Antimicrobial Stewardship Training Programme for General Practice: A Case Study.

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Medical Education
• Infectious Disease Management

Background:

• General practices in England prescribe approximately 71% of all antibiotics.
• Effective antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) training implementation faces challenges in reach and uptake.
• This case study evaluated embedding the TARGET (Treat Antibiotics Responsibly, Guidance, Education and Tools) AMS training within a local incentive scheme.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the feasibility, acceptability, and usefulness of integrating TARGET AMS training into a local incentive scheme.
• To assess the impact of the incentive scheme on clinician engagement with AMS training.
• To measure clinicians' intention to implement AMS strategies post-training.

Main Methods:

• General practices in the Black Country Integrated Care Board (ICB) were invited to a TARGET AMS training event, with attendance linked to a local incentive scheme.
• Pre- and post-workshop surveys captured data on knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and implementation intentions regarding AMS and the TARGET toolkit.
• Descriptive analyses were performed on the collected survey data.

Main Results:

• A high proportion of attendees (89%) found the training session valuable.
• Over 82% intended to use the TARGET toolkit, and over 90% planned to implement various AMS strategies.
• A significant majority (77%) planned to implement these strategies within 3-6 months post-training.

Conclusions:

• Embedding AMS training within local incentive schemes appears to be a feasible and effective method for increasing training reach.
• The high levels of clinician engagement and intention to implement AMS strategies suggest this approach can build confidence in improving antimicrobial prescribing.
• While direct impact on prescribing rates requires further evaluation, the initial results support this innovative training implementation model.