Providers’ shared decision-making as a predictor of healthcare outcomes for college-aged adults managing upper respiratory tract infections

Objectives: Strategies that assist patients with upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) to endorse non-antibiotic treatments are vital to curbing antibiotic resistance. This study examines the potential of shared decision-making (SDM) for improving stewardship-relevant outcomes and investigates patient affect as a mechanism that explains the beneficial impact of perceived SDM. Method: Patients (N = 433) seeking care for URTIs at a university student health center and not prescribed antibiotics completed a pre-visit questionnaire and two surveys one day and 14 days post-visit. The day-one survey assessed perceived SDM, affect, and immediate stewardship-relevant outcomes, and the day-14 survey assessed long-term stewardship-relevant outcomes. Results: Perceived SDM was negatively associated with negative affect and positively associated with positive affect, favorable perceptions of non-antibiotic treatments and providers, and self-efficacy to manage symptoms and obtain follow-up care. Patient affect and day-one outcomes were mediators between perceived SDM and retrospective self-efficacy two weeks post-visit. Conclusion: The study illustrated the beneficial influence of patient perceived SDM on antibiotic stewardship in both short and long terms and elucidated the mechanisms through which the influence occurs. Practice implications: SDM can be an effective strategy for primary care providers to improve patients’ outcomes with URTI visits without prescribing unwarranted antibiotics.