Public health campaigns

Antibiotic resistance has been identified by the World Health Organisation as one of the greatest threats to human health today and requires action from government, health sectors and the community.

Australia is contributing to the problem of antibiotic resistance with one of the highest rates of antibiotic prescribing in the world:

• approximately 19 million prescriptions written each year¹
• ranks number 8 among 29 countries evaluated²
• 46% of people were dispensed at least 1 course of antibiotics in 2014³

Audience research conducted by NPS MedicineWise identified multiple gaps in knowledge, beliefs and behaviours that are driving inappropriate prescribing and use of antibiotics in Australia.

Parental expectation for antibiotics is an ongoing challenge faced in general practice. Most parents believe that antibiotics are beneficial for childhood respiratory tract infections (RTIs) such colds, coughs, earaches and sore throats. Many parents also equate the duration of common childhood RTIs with the need for antibiotics.^4,5 A survey conducted by NPS MedicineWise found that 40% of Australian general practitioners (GPs) would prescribe antibiotics to meet patient expectations.⁶

Antibiotics are generally not recommended for common RTIs.^7–10 Yet analyses of MedicineInsight data showed over 50% of patients with RTIs were unnecessarily prescribed antibiotics in 2015¹¹, highlighting the need to manage patient expectation for antibiotics and reinforce guidelines for prescribing in general practice.

In 2012, NPS MedicineWise made a commitment to deliver a 5-year public health campaign that achieves the following strategic imperatives:

• address the knowledge, beliefs and behavioural factors driving consumer expectation and demand for antibiotics
• support GPs in managing consumer expectations for antibiotics through the provision of patient consultation tools that reinforce guidelines-based management of common RTIs
• reduce inappropriate prescribing and use of antibiotics for common RTIs and in turn the development of antibiotic resistance.

Consumer awareness of antibiotic resistance:

• the proportion of consumers who believe antibiotic resistance affects them now increased from 11% in 2015 to 25% in 2017¹².

Changes in GP prescribing and decision making:

• 16% increase in proportion of GPs who did not prescribe antibiotics to meet patient expectations (p<0.001)¹²
• 14% increase in proportion of GPs who discussed the issue of antibiotic resistance with their patients (p<0.001)¹²

Reduction in prescribing:*

• 14% total reduction in total dispensed antibiotics prescriptions¹³†
• 1.3 million average annual reduction in dispensed antibiotics prescriptions¹²†

Savings for the Australian health system:

• $48.8 million in total Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) cost savings¹²‡
• $12.2 million in annual PBS cost savings¹²‡

Reducing antibiotic resistance is complex, multifaceted and requires ongoing communication strategies and interventions to address multiple behavioural factors from both the consumer and health professional perspectives.