Reductions in Parent Interest in Receiving Antibiotics following a 90-Second Video Intervention in Outpatient Pediatric Clinics

Objectives: To assess the impact of a 90-second animated video on parents' interest in receiving an antibiotic for their child.

Study design: This pre-post test study enrolled English and Spanish speaking parents (n = 1051) of children ages 1-5 years presenting with acute respiratory tract infection symptoms. Before meeting with their provider, parents rated their interest in receiving an antibiotic for their child, answered 6 true/false antibiotic knowledge questions, viewed the video, and then rated their antibiotic interest again. Parents rated their interest in receiving an antibiotic using a visual analogue scale ranging from 0 to 100, with 0 being "I definitely do not want an antibiotic," 50 "Neutral," and 100 "I absolutely want an antibiotic."

Results: Parents were 84% female, with a mean age of 32 ± 6.0, 26.0% had a high school education or less, 15% were black, and 19% were Hispanic. After watching the video, parents' average antibiotic interest ratings decreased by 10 points (mean, 57.0 ± 20 to M ± 21; P < .0001). Among parents with the highest initial antibiotic interest ratings (≥60), even greater decreases were observed (83.0 ± 12.0 to 63.4 ± 22; P < .0001) with more than one-half (52%) rating their interest in the low or neutral ranges after watching the video.

Conclusions: A 90-second video can decrease parents' interest in receiving antibiotics, especially among those with higher baseline interest. This scalable intervention could be used in a variety of settings to reduce parents' interest in receiving antibiotics.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03037112.