# Engaging Hospitalists to Improve Antibiotic Prescribing at Hospital Discharge

> **NIH AHRQ K08** · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · 2020 · $78,417

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Antibiotic overuse in hospitalized patients is common and leads to adverse events, such as
increased antibiotic resistance and Clostridioides difficile infection. Antibiotics prescribed at
hospital discharge account for up to half of antibiotic use related to hospitalization and are often
unnecessary. For infections such as urinary tract infection and pneumonia, the majority of
antibiotics prescribed at discharge are written by hospitalists. Thus, engaging this group of
providers is needed to improve antibiotic use at discharge.
The long-term goal of this career development award is to promote the candidate's development
into an independently funded physician-scientist with expertise in improving appropriate use of
medical therapies. Using antibiotics prescribed at hospital discharge as a model for this work, this
project aims to: 1) assess the drivers of antibiotic overuse at hospital discharge, 2) examine
barriers to and facilitators of appropriate antibiotic treatment at discharge, and 3) develop and
pilot a behavioral intervention to improve appropriate use of antibiotics at hospital discharge.
Successful completion of this work will substantially impact patient care and ensure the
candidate's future success through acquisition of critical skills and content expertise in reducing
medical overuse at discharge. Finally, this work fits with AHRQ's research priority area #1 of
conducting research to improve health care patient safety and with AHRQ's interest in combating
healthcare-associated infections and antibiotic resistance.
The candidate will pursue a mentored research plan that promotes development of expertise in:
1) multilevel methods to evaluate the relative contributions of patient and organization-level
effects on provider decisions such as antibiotic prescribing; 2) qualitative research methods to
better understand prescribing practices; and 3) designing and evaluating provider-facing
behavioral interventions to influence prescribing practices. The career development plan consists
of a multidisciplinary team of experienced mentors and advisors who will oversee a range of
formal coursework and practical experiences to ensure the candidates' success. Exceptional
resources and a mentoring team with proven success in developing junior physician-scientists
make the University of Michigan an ideal environment for this proposal.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9820288
- **Project number:** 1K08HS026530-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
- **Principal Investigator:** Valerie Michele Vaughn
- **Activity code:** K08 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** AHRQ
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $78,417
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-04-01 → 2020-09-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9820288

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9820288, Engaging Hospitalists to Improve Antibiotic Prescribing at Hospital Discharge (1K08HS026530-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9820288. Licensed CC0.

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