Overuse and misuse of antibiotics are major threats to public health, and the focus
of national efforts to improve the quality of antibiotic prescribing in all health
care settings, including assisted living facilities (ALFs). Understanding the frequency
and patterns of antibiotic use is a necessary step toward improving the safety of
antibiotic use in ALFs. The few studies of antibiotic use in ALFs have predominantly
focused on the frequency of antibiotic starts and the process of antibiotic ordering
in these facilities.
1
,2
To our knowledge, studies examining indicators of potentially inappropriate antibiotic
therapy have not been previously reported. Three ALFs located in the Midwest were
recruited to participate in the project. Residents from the 6 care units in these
3 ALFs comprised the final sample. This research letter addresses this knowledge gap
by examining treatment indication, antibiotic choice, and duration of therapy and
explore variability across memory care vs non–memory care units.To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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References
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: April 28, 2021
Footnotes
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
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© 2021 AMDA - The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine.
