a survey of pediatricians’ views and practices regarding parents’ request for prescribing antibiotics: a qualitative study

Background: bacterial resistance is considered an important concern in health care medicine. there is a close relationship between the use of antibiotics and drug resistance.objectives: in this study, pediatricians’ views and their practices regarding parents’ request for prescribing antibiotics when they did not see the need for the prescription and their opinions and suggestions were studied.methods: this study was a qualitative cross-sectional interviewer assist study of pediatricians using a validated self-designed questionnaire. the study population included one hundred pediatricians in tehran province from january to may 2018. sampling method was non-probability convenience method.results: the mean age of the participants was 37.04 ± 5.9 years, 47% male, and 53% female. the frequency of parents’ requests from pediatricians to prescribe antibiotics was 53% and about 45.3% of them agreed with this request. gender was significant in participants’ agreement with the request of parents (60% in male and 26% in female). the important issues of this agreement were: the absence of a definitive clinical diagnosis (51%); when the initial treatment was not effective (39%); and concerned about legal consequences (51%). about 54.7% did not agree with this request. the most important issues of disagreement were: confirmation of clinical diagnosis (79%), and when pediatricians did not feel pressure from the parents (73%). the most important recommendation by the participants to reduce parents’ request included an adequate explanation and counseling with parents at the time of the visit (70%), increasing parental information in the community (62%), and the standardized guidelines for the treatment of diseases (51%).conclusions: based on the results, consultation with parents reduces parental concern and pressure. the parental information still plays a major role in the proper use of antibiotics. retraining pediatricians and preparation of guidelines can be effective in increasing their confidence and correct diagnosis and prescribing decisions.