Results
RECRUITMENT, PCP, SECONDARY
Sixty-four PCPs were assessed for eligibility. Forty-one did not meet the inclusion criteria. Recruitment of PCPs took place from January 21, 2022, to February 17, 2022. Three PCPs that met the inclusion criteria were excluded because their managers did not provide consent. Twenty PCPs that met the inclusion criteria were included in the trial and randomized. Ten PCPs were randomly assigned to each of the intervention and control arms. They were all treated accordingly. None of the PCPs that were randomized withdrew. The trial ended on July 23, 2022, when post-intervention data collection was completed. In five of the 600 visits (0.83%) at baseline, no data were collected. For the control arm, in seven of the 300 (2.33%) visits post-intervention, no data were collected. For the intervention arm, in one of the 300 visits (0.33%) post-intervention, no data were collected. These were mostly because the concerned PCPs were closed or did not have relevant drugs in stock when simulated clients visited. Please see Trial profile.PCP, private community pharmacy.The simulated clients that collected data at baseline and post-intervention mostly had similar demographic characteristics (Demographic characteristics of simulated clients who collected post-intervention and baseline data.Data in the post-intervention and baseline columns are number of simulated clients (%).Characteristics of private community pharmacies regarding the percentage of visits in which antibiotics were dispensed, and the percentage of visits in which relevant tests were conducted, at baseline.Data in the intervention and control columns are number of private community pharmacies (%).Regarding the primary outcome in the adjusted analysis (Post-intervention visits in which antibiotics were dispensed.AE, absolute effect.Data in the intervention and control columns are events/n (%). Data in AE are the absolute difference between the percentages in the intervention and control columns.Regarding the secondary outcome (Post-intervention visits in which relevant tests (C-reactive protein tests) were conducted, with clarification regarding those without subsequent antibiotic dispensation.AE, absolute effect.Data in the intervention and control columns are events/n (%). Data in AE are the absolute difference between the percentages in the intervention and control columns. The multiple imputation model is that of the adjusted analysis.