Family Education Tools

An important part of antimicrobial stewardship is taking time to educate patients and families on how to use antibiotics appropriately. Data demonstrates that most parents are not expecting antibiotics to be prescribed when their child is sick with an upper respiratory tract infection, but instead are seeking reassurance their child will improve and opportunities to reduce symptoms¹.  

Speaking with patients and families about antibiotics 

Even with common infections, the process of explaining to families why or why not a child is prescribed an antibiotic can be challenging. Children’s Mercy physicians Amanda Nedved, Will Findlay and Amanda Montalbano have developed helpful videos to serve as a resource guide for these conversations and answer questions related to a few common infections which may or may not require antibiotics.

Frequent Talking Points in Outpatient Antibiotic Stewardship: 

• Otitis Media with Effusion 
• Acute Otitis Media 
• Pharyngitis
• Visual Aid for Safety Net Antibiotic Prescriptions

Children’s Mercy Parent-ish 

Parents and caregivers have free access to Parent-ish, a blog with entries written by Children’s Mercy experts to provide helpful, relevant information and answers to common questions. A variety of these articles focus on appropriate antibiotic use.  

References 

1. JE Szymczak, SB Klieger, M Miller, AG Fiks, JS Gerber. What parents think about the risks and benefits for their child’s respiratory tract infection? J Pediatric Infect Dis Soc. 2019; 7(4):303-9.