SynthesisBMC medical education2025
Effectiveness of educational interventions in improving antimicrobial dispensing by community pharmacists: a systematic review.
Synthesis in BMC medical education, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Pharmacy-Led Digital Education for Rational Antibiotic Use in Companion Animals: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Antimicrobial stewardship in community pharmacies in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State: practices, barriers, and facilitators.Antimicrobial stewardship & healthcare epidemiology : ASHE · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIdentifying antimicrobial dispensing services is crucial for promoting the rational use of these medicines and mitigating microbial resistance. Educational interventions can support this process; however, a comprehensive synthesis of their effectiveness is still lacking. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of educational interventions in improving antimicrobial dispensing among community pharmacists.
methodsA systematic review of PubMed/Medline, Web of Science, Embase, BVS/LILACS, ERIC, and gray literature was conducted in June 2024. Two reviewers screened titles, abstracts, and full-text articles according to eligibility criteria and extracted the data. Original studies that described and evaluated the impact of educational interventions (regardless of the modality) on antimicrobial dispensing in community pharmacies were included. Methodological quality was assessed via tools from the JBI critical appraisal tool, and the literature was synthesized descriptively.
resultsWe retrieved 2,086 articles from the initial search, seven of which met the eligibility criteria. The study design included randomized clinical trials (n= 4), quasi-experimental studies (n= 2), and mixed-method studies (n= 1). The number of pharmacists participating in the studies ranged from 17--1200. Six studies (85%) used multifaceted interventions, with remote interventions being the most predominant. Only two studies employed simulated patients to evaluate the intervention's effectiveness. A positive influence of educational interventions on antimicrobial dispensing was demonstrated across all the outcomes evaluated. The assessment of methodological quality revealed a lack of clarity and/or insufficient information in primary studies.
conclusionThis systematic review provides evidence of the effectiveness of educational interventions in improving verbal and/or written counseling by community pharmacists, patients' intentions to follow recommendations and adhere to treatment and the reduction over-the-counter antimicrobial sales. The multifaceted interventions demonstrated better outcomes compared to single interventions. These findings can guide the development of standardized training programs, development of indicators and health policies aimed at promoting the rational use of antimicrobials and reducing microbial resistance.
trial registrationPROSPERO CRD42024567874.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.