Antimicrobial prescribing for urinary tract infections in pregnancy V1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring antimicrobial prescribing for urinary tract infections (UTIs) in pregnancy – a qualitative interview study
IRAS ID
266251
Contact name
Flavia Ghouri
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Reading
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
N/A, N/A
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 7 months, 1 days
Research summary
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global health threat and is linked to inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics. AMR can result in life threatening infections if the microorganism responsible for causing the infection is resistant to existing antibiotics. In pregnancy, this can be particularly problematic because the choice of antibiotics can be restricted compared to the general population. Antibiotics prescribed in pregnancy need to be effective but also safe for the foetus which narrows the pool of available antibiotics to treat infections.
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the most common type of infection in pregnancy and antibiotic prescribing for pregnant women is highest for UTIs. There is evidence that antibiotics for UTIs are over-prescribed in pregnancy and an audit has shown that there is a need to optimise the choice of antibiotics that are currently used. Several research studies have investigated prescribers’ perspectives on AMR, however no study has explored AMR or antibiotic use in pregnancy from the prescriber’s point of view. It is important that AMR research is contextualised to identify specific issues that need to be resolved. Therefore, the aim of the current study is to explore prescribers’ perspectives on antimicrobial prescribing with a focus on UTIs in pregnancy. The results will be useful to gain insight into healthcare professionals’ decision-making process which will assist with discouraging inappropriate antibiotic use.
Semi-structured one-to-one qualitative interviews will be conducted with prescribers who work in GP surgeries and have experience of prescribing antibiotics in pregnancy. Interviews will be recorded and transcribed for analysis. Inductive thematic analysis will be used to interpret and analyse the data. The findings from this research study will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, presented at conferences, and will be included in the thesis of the main researcher.REC name
N/A
REC reference
N/A