Salient beliefs and intentions to prescribe antibiotics for patients with a sore throat

Objectives. General practitioners (GPs) in the UK continue to prescribe ant ibiotics for patients with sore throats despite evidence that they are inef fective and can contribute to the growth of antibiotic resistance in the po pulation. This study uses the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to investig ate the strength of intention to prescribe antibiotics, and to identify the salient beliefs associated with this intention. Design. Cross-sectional study testing hypotheses derived from the TPB. Method. A 66-item postal questionnaire was distributed to a random sample o f GPs in one NHS region (N = 185). The questionnaire included measures of i ntention to prescribe antibiotics, attitude, behavioural beliefs and evalua tions, normative beliefs and evaluations, perceived behavioural control, co ntrol beliefs, and past prescribing. Results. Two-thirds of the GPs returned complete questionnaires (N = 126, 6 8%). The majority intended to prescribe antibiotics for less than half of t heir patients with sore throats (N = 69, 55%). The variables specified in T PB predicted 48% of the variance in intention, with past behaviour adding a further 15%. Seven salient beliefs distinguished between doctors who inten d to prescribe antibiotics and those who do not. Conclusions. Attitudes towards antibiotics and control beliefs are importan t predictors of intention to prescribe, as predicted by TPB. Interventions could target salient beliefs associated with motivation to prescribe.