Evaluation of a multi-component educational package for GP registrars in improving guideline compliance for prescription of benzodiazepines and related drugs in general practice: a pragmatic evaluation employing a non-equivalent control group design, nested within an ongoing cohort study.
This project aimed to develop and test the efficacy of an educational package designed to reduce prescription of benzodiazepine and related drugs (hereafter, ‘benzodiazepines’), informed by a theoretical approach and current evidence around interventions to influence clinician behaviour.
The educational/training package was confined to GP Synergy but in the primary evaluation utilized ReCEnT data from GP Synergy, and Eastern Victoria General Practice Training (EVGP) and General Practice Training Tasmania (GPTT) as control sites.
An education intervention was delivered during a session at a routinely-scheduled educational workshop at GP Synergy.
For the analysis using ReCEnT study data: the intervention group consisted of GP Synergy registrars in Terms 1 and 2 of their vocational training program. The comparator group from EVGP and GPTT were also Term 1 and 2 GP registrars.
The project employed a pragmatic non-equivalent control group design, nested within an ongoing cohort study, the ReCEnT Study.
Components of the educational package included:
- a 40-min face-to-face registrar education session at the FUSION Workshop
- registrar and supervisor pre-workshop readings
- a supervisor webinar
- an optional joint GP registrar-supervisor education activity for each registrar-supervisor dyad to use in their regular weekly one-on-one teaching meetings.
The comparator group of registrars at GPTT and EVGP received their ‘usual education’ during the study period.
The project was a collaboration with investigators from University of Queensland.
