Reducing injection overuse through consumers'-prescribers' interactional group discussions in Dar es Salaam region, Tanzania

Aims: This study aimed to assess the efficacy of an innovative behavioral intervention, interactional group discussions (IGDs), for reducing the overuse of injections. Materials & methods: This study involved ten public (randomized into five control and five intervention groups) and ten private (randomized into five control and five intervention groups) dispensaries. Prescribers in the intervention group were each invited to one IGD, which consisted of six prescribers and six consumers (of whom the majority were mothers with sick children under 5 years of age); a total of five IGDs were held in a 4-week period. All invited prescribers participated. Outcome measures were assessed in relation to a pre- and post-change using STATISTICA to analyze quantitative data, whereas qualitative data were analyzed using socioanthropological approaches. In control public dispensaries, the percentage of prescriptions that were for injections was 32% at baseline, compared with 31% in the intervention groups. Results: Usin...