Over 10 million Australians receive antibiotics annually, often for self-limiting infections, contributing to the avoidable threat of antimicrobial resistance. This threatens the availability of affordable and reliable treatments for everyday infections, bringing us nearer to a post-antibiotic era. Despite strong evidence for antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) interventions, real-world uptake in primary care remains limited.
The Evidence-based Antimicrobial Stewardship: Sustainable Implementation in Primary Care (EASSI-PC) trial aims to close this evidence-practice gap by implementing, evaluating, and scaling up co-designed AMS strategies with general practitioners, tailored to real-world general practice setting.
Across Primary Health Networks in four states (New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, and Victoria), we are delivering webinars and sharing practical resources to support GPs in adopting AMS. These strategies have already been proven effective in reducing unnecessary antibiotic prescribing, and our goal is to make them accessible and easier to implement in everyday practice.
GPs and practices who express further interest in participating in our trial will be randomly assigned to receive either basic or dynamic resources. Basic resources may include patient information sheets, practice resources or posters through the trial website. Dynamic resources include customised audit and feedback reports or interactive webinars. The main aim of the trial is to understand whether there is a difference in antibiotic prescribing when GPs are provided with different levels of support.
The EASSI-PC trial is designed by GPs for GPs to help identify which types of interventions are most effective for optimising antibiotic prescribing. The goal is to provide practical insights that can shape policies and programs tailored for general practices—supporting efforts to preserve the effectiveness of antibiotics, reduce resistance, and ensure the best possible care for patients while minimising harm.
