Nursing home residents' experiences and perceptions of antibiotic use: A qualitative descriptive study

Background: Antibiotics are commonly used in the nursing home (NH) setting. Little is known of NH resi-dents' perceptions and experiences regarding antibiotic use.Methods: This was a qualitative descriptive study. We conducted individual, semi-structured interviews with NH residents. Interview transcripts were analyzed using conventional content analysis. Results: Twenty-six residents were interviewed. Four themes emerged: (1) perceived benefits and risks to antibiotics; (2) information needs regarding antibiotic treatment; (3) approaches to address information needs; and (4) resident involvement in antibiotic treatment decisions. The perceived benefits of antibiotics were described as symptom-relief and cure; risks included gastrointestinal symptoms and antibiotic resis-tance. Informational needs included the indication for antibiotics, risks and side-effects of antibiotics, and potential interactions between antibiotic treatments and medication regimens. Residents performed infor-mation seeking behaviors to address informational needs but described difficulty obtaining and recalling desired information. Diverse involvement in antibiotic treatment decisions were described, in which a subset of participants reported seeking antibiotics from their prescriber.Conclusions: Future efforts aiming to improve collaborative decision making and antibiotic use in the NH set-ting should address the unmet information needs of NH residents regarding their antibiotic treatment plans.& COPY; 2022 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Antibiotics are commonly used in nursing homes, but little is known about the perceptions and experiences of NH residents regarding antibiotic use. This qualitative study conducted interviews with NH residents and identified four themes: perceived benefits and risks, information needs, approaches to address information needs, and resident involvement in decision making. Future efforts should focus on addressing the unmet information needs of NH residents to improve collaborative decision making and antibiotic use.