The association between GP characteristics and mean antibiotic prescribing in RTIs by means of linear regression analysis.
| 95% CI | ||
|---|---|---|
| GP characteristics | ||
| Sex | – | |
| Years of practice | 3.60 | 1.20 to 6.00 |
| List size | – | |
| Medical knowledge on RTIs | 0.63 | 0.01 to 1.26 |
| Visits from drug representatives | – | |
| Perceived time per patient | 0.71 | 0.18 to 1.24 |
| Interaction terms | ||
| Sex × list sizea | 0.34 | 0.09 to 0.59 |
| Years of practice × medical knowledge on RTIsb | −2.37 | −4.3 to −0.42 |
| Years of practice × visits from drug representativesc | 0.25 | −0.00 to 0.51 |
| Years of practice × perceived time per patientd | −1.32 | −2.48 to −0.17 |
Explained variance: 0.29.
↵a Female GPs having more patients enlisted, prescribe antibiotics more frequently.
↵b The longer the years of practice and the less a GP knows about RTIs, the more frequently a GP prescribes antibiotics.
↵c The longer the years of practice and the more drug representatives seen by a GP, the more frequently a GP prescribes antibiotics.
↵d The longer the years of practice and the less time perceived by the GP to be available per patient, the more frequently a GP prescribes antibiotics. RTI = respiratory tract infection.