Identifying and addressing UTI prevention barriers in primary care: a qualitative study

Area of Science:

• Urology
• General Practice
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) significantly impact patient well-being and drive antibiotic overuse.
• Preventive strategies, including behavioral measures and non-antibiotic options, are underutilized in primary care despite guideline recommendations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify barriers and facilitators to discussing UTI prevention in primary care settings.
• To develop strategies for overcoming identified barriers to UTI prevention discussions.

Main Methods:

• A qualitative study employing semi-structured interviews with general practitioners, doctor's assistants, and UTI patients.
• Deductive content analysis using the Theoretical Domains Framework for data analysis.
• Focus groups to identify actionable strategies for improving UTI prevention discussions.

Main Results:

• Key barriers include limited knowledge, prioritizing treatment over prevention, time constraints, and lack of clear protocols for discussing prevention.
• Healthcare professionals sometimes assume patients possess preventive knowledge or seek only antibiotics.
• Patient-initiated conversations were identified as a significant facilitator for discussing UTI prevention.

Conclusions:

• Barriers to UTI prevention discussions span behavioral, interpersonal, and organizational domains, offering targets for intervention.
• Proposed strategies focus on enhancing knowledge, encouraging patient initiation of discussions, and optimizing the timing of preventive advice.
• These strategies hold promise for improving UTI prevention and reducing antimicrobial consumption.