Utilising the epidemiologic triad in analysing quality improvement data: antibiotic use for respiratory infections as a case example.

Background: Quality improvement investigators working in field settings, who typically are not trained in epidemiological methods, may not consider all three elements of the epidemiologic triad (person, place and time) when planning their projects.

Aim: To demonstrate how the epidemiological triad can guide analysis for quality assessment. Predictors of antibiotic use in primary care were analysed to illustrate the approach.

Addressing antibiotic use for acute respiratory tract infections in an academic family medicine practice.

The objective of this study was to educate health care providers and patients to reduce overall antibiotic prescription rates for patients with acute respiratory tract infection (ARTI). An interdisciplinary quality improvement team used the Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control quality improvement process to change patient expectations and provider antibiotic prescribing patterns. Providers received personal and group academic detailing about baseline behaviors, copies of treatment guidelines, and educational materials to use with patients.