Antibiotic prescribing to Kentucky Medicaid children, 2012‐2017: Prescribing is higher in rural areas

Purpose Antibiotic resistance is a major public health threat. Antibiotic use is the main driver of resistance, with children and the state of Kentucky having particularly high rates of outpatient antibiotic prescribing. The purpose of this study was to describe patient and provider characteristics...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of rural health 2022-03, Vol.38 (2), p.427-432
Main Authors: Wattles, Bethany A., Vidwan, Navjyot K., Feygin, Yana, Jawad, Kahir S., Creel, Liza M., Smith, Michael J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anti-Bacterial Agents - therapeutic use
Antibiotic resistance
antibiotic stewardship
antibiotic use
Antibiotics
Antimicrobial Stewardship
Child
Child, Preschool
Children
Family physicians
Female
Government programs
Health problems
Health risks
health services research
Humans
Kentucky
Male
Management
Medicaid
Nurse practitioners
Patients
Pediatricians
Pediatrics
Prescribing
Prescription drugs
Public health
Resistance
Rural areas
rural children
Rural communities
United States
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Purpose Antibiotic resistance is a major public health threat. Antibiotic use is the main driver of resistance, with children and the state of Kentucky having particularly high rates of outpatient antibiotic prescribing. The purpose of this study was to describe patient and provider characteristics associated with pediatric antibiotic use in Kentucky Medicaid children. Methods We used Medicaid prescription claims data from 2012 to 2017 to describe patterns of pediatric antibiotic receipt in Kentucky. Patient and provider variables were analyzed to identify variations in prescribing. Findings Children who were female, less than 2 years old, White, and living in a rural area had consistently higher rates of antibiotic prescriptions. There was significant geographic variability in prescribing, with children in Eastern Kentucky receiving more than 3 courses of antibiotics a year. Most antibiotic prescriptions for children were written by general practitioners and nurse practitioners rather than pediatricians. Conclusion These findings support the need for extensive antibiotic stewardship efforts inclusive of rural outpatient practices.
ISSN:0890-765X
1748-0361
DOI:10.1111/jrh.12584