Evaluation of an Educational Intervention on Antibiotics in Dental Care

Summary

The goal of this randomized trial is to estimate the impact of personalized prescribing portraits and educational materials on prescribing of antibiotic medications by dentists in British Columbia, Canada.

The main research question is:

Did the prescribing Portraits and Therapeutics Letter lead to a change in clindamycin prescribing as a proportion of total antibiotic prescribing by dentists in British Columbia.

Study participants are dentists actively practicing in British Columbia. Participants were randomized to 3 study arms to received different combinations of one of two versions of the individual prescribing Portraits and a Therapeutics Letter in Early or Delayed Groups. Two versions of the prescribing Portrait were used: a "plain" version and a "complete" version, which included an additional section with self-reflection questions for clinicians.

Using administrative health data, the prescribing of those in different combinations of materials in the Early Group will be compared to those in the Delayed Group to estimate the impact of the materials on prescribing by the dentists.

Conditions

• Dental Infection
• Clindamycin
• Antibiotics

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Early Plain Portrait and Letter

In the context of audit and feedback interventions, the prescribing Portrait is a document produced by the Therapeutics Initiative that provides personalized prescribing feedback for clinicians in British Columbia. Portraits are used as a practice resource tool for reflection on prescribing or test-ordering patterns. The Portraits provide data of individual prescribing along with evidence-based benchmarks or targets. The "plain" Portrait includes the main message, prescriber's data (compare to optimal prescribing, with or without information on BC mean/median). Prescribers are also given access to a succinct review of the best available evidence on the topic and recommendations for future action in the Therapeutics Letter, a standalone publication that details the evidence for the recommended practice in a brief and practical manner, with references.

BEHAVIORAL

Early Complete Portrait and Letter

In the context of audit and feedback interventions, the prescribing Portrait is a document produced by the Therapeutics Initiative that provides personalized prescribing feedback for clinicians in British Columbia. Portraits are used as a practice resource tool for reflection on prescribing or test-ordering patterns. The Portraits provide data of individual prescribing along with evidence-based benchmarks or targets. The "complete" Portrait includes the main message, prescriber's data (compare to optimal prescribing, with or without information on BC mean/median) and a series of self-reflection questions. Prescribers are also given access to a succinct review of the best available evidence on the topic and recommendations for future action in the Therapeutics Letter, a standalone publication that details the evidence for the recommended practice in a brief and practical manner, with references.

BEHAVIORAL

No intervention

To measure the impact of the interventions, Arm C (Group 3) will receive no intervention in the Early mailing and Arm B (Group 2) will receive no intervention in the Delayed mailing.

BEHAVIORAL

Delayed Plain Portrait and Letter

Delayed "plain" Portrait and Letter (as described)

BEHAVIORAL

Delayed Complete Portrait

Delayed "complete" Portrait and Letter (as described)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Ministry of Health, British Columbia

  collaborator OTHER_GOV

• British Columbia Centre for Disease Control

  collaborator OTHER_GOV

• British Columbia College of Oral Health Professionals

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• University of British Columbia

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Colin Dormuth, ScD · University of British Columbia

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Masking

SINGLE

Model

SEQUENTIAL

Eligibility

Min Age

16 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2023-05-15

Primary Completion

2024-10-24

Completion

2027-05-15

Countries

• Canada

Study Locations