Antibiotics, which are used to treat infections caused by bacteria, are responsible for many of the improvements in medicine over the last 60-70 years. However, most bacteria are becoming resistant to the antibiotics which were previously used to treat them, posing an important threat to public health as common infections are becoming more difficult to treat.  

 Respiratory tract infections (RTIs) such as the common cold and acute bronchitis are one of the main problem areas because primary care providers prescribe antibiotics for these infections even though they are caused by viruses rather than bacteria.

We use Standardised Patients combines with natural and experimental variations to study the role of financial incentives, patient attitude and provider characteristics in both public and private primary care facilities.

Funding: Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)