Background: Feedback on optimal antimicrobial prescribing to clinicians is an important strategy to ensure antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) in the hospital setting.
Objective: To explore the perceptions of antimicrobial prescribing feedback among clinicians in acute care.
Study design: Prospective qualitative design.
Setting: A large inner-city tertiary referral center in Dublin, Ireland.
Participants: Clinicians were recruited from the hospital clinician population.
Methods: A qualitative study was conducted with a purposive sample of multidisciplinary clinicians. Focus groups and semistructured interviews were used to collect data that were analyzed inductively to identify themes.
Results: In total, 30 clinicians from medical, surgical, nursing and pharmacy professions participated in the study. We identified 5 themes: (1) antimicrobial consumption perceived as a proxy measure for prescribing quality; (2) lack of connection between antimicrobial prescribing and patient outcomes; (3) relevance and impact of antimicrobial prescribing feedback associated with professional role; (4) attitudes regarding feedback as an AMS strategy; and (5) knowledge regarding AMS, including antimicrobial prescribing quality measures.
Conclusions: Focused feedback on antimicrobial prescribing, with clear goals for improvement, could serve as a useful AMS strategy among clinicians in the acute-care setting. The need for further education and training in AMS was also identified.
© The Author(s) 2022.