Study Reveals Why Indian Doctors Overuse Antibiotics
Study finds doctors misjudge patient needs in antibiotic use.
A groundbreaking study published in Science Advances has revealed that the overuse of antibiotics in India may stem from healthcare providers’ mistaken belief that patients expect antibiotics, rather than profit motives or lack of education. Conducted by researchers from the University of Southern California, the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, and New Delhi-based NEERMAN, the study highlights a critical misconception fueling antimicrobial resistance, a global health crisis projected to claim 39 million lives by 2050, according to a 2024 Lancet study.
The research involved over 2,000 anonymous visits to healthcare providers across 253 towns in Karnataka and Bihar, where actors posed as patients seeking treatment for a child’s diarrhea. The study also analyzed interview responses from 2,282 providers, including pharmacists, rural medical practitioners, MBBS doctors, and traditional medicine practitioners.
Shockingly, 70% of providers prescribed antibiotics instead of the recommended oral rehydration salts, despite no indication of bacterial infection. The researchers found that providers often assumed patients would question their credibility without antibiotics, even though this choice was not driven by financial gain or lack of knowledge.
In a separate experiment, the study surveyed 1,189 caretakers who had sought treatment for their child’s diarrhea. Contrary to providers’ beliefs, patients did not prefer practitioners who prescribed antibiotics. When patients explicitly requested rehydration treatment, antibiotic prescriptions dropped by 20%, underscoring the impact of addressing providers’ misconceptions.
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“Using randomized experiments, we revealed that the know-do gap stems from providers’ beliefs that patients want antibiotics, not from profit motives or lack of alternative treatments,” the authors wrote. The findings suggest that tackling these misperceptions could significantly curb antibiotic overuse, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where antimicrobial resistance is a growing threat.
As antibiotic resistance continues to pose a pressing global health challenge, this study calls for targeted interventions to align healthcare providers’ practices with patient preferences, promoting evidence-based treatments and safeguarding public health.
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