About Kentucky Antibiotic Awareness

The KAA is no longer being actively supported. This website remains as an archive of relevant information.

Kentucky Antibiotic Awareness

Did you know that Kentucky has one of the highest rates of antibiotic prescribing in the country?

Kentucky Antibiotic Awareness (KAA) is a campaign to reduce inappropriate antibiotic use across the state of Kentucky.  KAA encourages healthcare professionals and community members to utilize the educational resources provided here.  The materials available on this site were developed by health professional researchers from the University of Louisville, Department of Pediatrics, Child and Adolescent Health Research Design and Support Unit (CAHRDS).

All Kentucky Antibiotic Awareness materials on the louisville.edu website may be reproduced as needed; however, literature content should not be altered without permission.

Kentucky Antibiotic Awareness


Stay Up-to-Date:

 

Kentucky Outpatient Antimicrobial Workbook CoverStewardship Implementation Workbook

This comprehensive workbook  was created to assist providers in implementing stewardship initiatives in their practice.

Kentucky Antibiotic Awareness Commitment Posters

Use the following free templates for download (space has been left for your own logo/information):

 

Disclaimer

This project was supported by the following: Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services:Department for Medicaid Services under the State University Partnership contract titled “Improving Care Quality for Children Receiving Kentucky Medicaid”, Norton Children’s Hospital, and the University of Louisville School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics; School of Public Health and Information Sciences.

This content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Department for Medicaid Services

Provider Feedback Reports

  • UofL and Kentucky Medicaid are collaborating to distribute individualized feedback reports on antibiotic prescribing to KY Medicaid children
  • Provider feedback and peer comparison has been shown to be effective in decreasing unnecessary antibiotic prescribing
  • For more information on how your prescribing outcomes were calculated: Provider Feedback Methods

How can you help?

Continuing Education Opportunities

This course fulfills Improvement Activities (IA) Patient Safety and Practice Assessment (PSPA)_23 and PSPA_24 under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Merit-Based Incentive Programs, or MIPS.

 

Communication Strategies

Key Communication Practices:

  • Review your Physical Exam findings
  • Deliver a clear diagnosis
  • Use a 2-part negative/positive treatment recommendation:

1. Negative treatment recommendations to ‘rule out’ the need for antibiotics: “This is a cold, which antibiotics won’t work against.”

2. Positive treatment recommendations for symptom relief: “Raising the head of her bed will help with the drainage from her nose so she won’t cough so much.”

  • Provide a contingency plan

 Note: Patients/parents tend to question the treatment plan after a negative recommendation. Avoid this by using the following structure:

  • “On the one hand, antibiotics won’t help…” [negative recommendation]
  • “On the other hand, there are things you can do…” [positive recommendation]

Researchers from University of Washington and Seattle Children’s developed Dialogue Around Respiratory Illness Treatment (DART) learning modules to better understand these important communication strategies. Also available with continuing education credit in Module 6 of the CDC’s Antibiotic Stewardship Training Series

 Resources

Amoxicillin Interchange Guidance - Updated January 2023

As many healthcare systems continue to be impacted by the critical, nationwide shortage of oral amoxicillin suspension, the pediatric antimicrobial stewardship teams from the University of Louisville and University of Kentucky collaborated to create an amoxicillin interchange guidance document. This guidance document serves to promote judicious antimicrobial prescribing, optimization of antimicrobial dosing, and utilization of evidence-based treatment durations for the most common pediatric infectious disease states. Please reach out to a collaborating author with any questions.

 

Pediatric Treatment Recommendations Card

Community Antibiotic Awareness Slides

For more resources visit the Materials and Resources tab above

For more information visit: CDC Be Antibiotics Aware: Smart Use, Best Care

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Antibiotics are important, life-saving drugs. Unfortunately, any time antibiotics are used they can cause side effects and antibiotic resistance. It is estimated that only 1 out of every 3 antibiotic prescriptions are appropriate. It’s important for everyone’s health to use antibiotics ONLY when needed.

 What is antibiotic resistance?

Antibiotic resistance is one of the scariest threats to public health. Resistance is when bacteria are no longer killed by antibiotics. The more antibiotic resistance, the harder it is to treat even common infections Each year in the United States, at least 2 million people get infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and at least 23,000 people die as a result. Antibiotic use is one of the main causes of resistance, so it’s important to use antibiotics only when needed.

 When are antibiotics needed?

Antibiotics are only needed for infections caused by bacteria, such as pneumonia, urinary tract infections, and ear infections. Antibiotic are NOT helpful against infections caused by viruses, like the common cold, bronchitis, or the flu. Taking antibiotics when they’re not needed can lead to unwanted adverse effects (eg. diarrhea) and antibiotic resistance.

 What can you do to encourage appropriate antibiotic use?

Talk to your doctor about when antibiotics are needed, and don’t demand antibiotics when they’re not needed. Instead, ask your doctor for symptomatic treatment recommendations for viral infections. When you do receive an antibiotic, always take it as directed: do not share your prescription or “save some for later.”

Having a sick child can be scary and overwhelming. We want your child to feel better as soon as possible, but sometimes antibiotics cause more harm than good. Use our Sick Child Handout to help you decide when to take your child to the doctor, and how to help at home.

 How can you help?

  • Remember, not all infections require antibiotics
  • Talk to your doctor about the best care for yourself or your child
  • For infections that do require antibiotics, always take them as directed: do not share with others or save for later
For parents
Use these fun learning tools to teach your child about appropriate antibiotic use

KY Kids Antibiotic Awareness Activity Book

CDC Flu Season Activity Book

Kentucky Antibiotic Awareness Stickers

 

 

 

For more information visit: CDC Be Antibiotics Aware: Smart Use, Best Care

Follow us on Social Media:  Facebook  |  Twitter

Health Department Resources

Health Departments are an essential voice to share this important message.  Here are some ways for Health Departments to join the effort:

 

Health Administrator Resources

  • Use the KY Outpatient AMS Implementation Workbook in your Emergency Department, Urgent Care and Outpatient locations
    • Identify and implement system-wide interventions
    • Include stewardship-related duties in job description and evaluation criteria
  • Provide community education
    • Add Antibiotic Stewardship to your webpage and newsletters using our For the Public template
    • Display Antibiotic Awareness graphics on TV and computer monitors
    • Host community education events
  • Follow us on Social Media:  Facebook | Twitter

 

Professional Medical Organizations

We value your communication with providers throughout the state. Help us spread the word!

Pharmacists

  • Display a KY Pharmacy Commitment poster
  • Educate patients about: symptom relief for viral illnesses, common antibiotic side effects, and vaccinations
  • Include this handout with antibiotic prescriptions

Access other Materials and Resources