A Novel Utilization of the Firstline Mobile Application to Facilitate Educational Activities

Corresponding Author Kira E. Frappa, PharmD, BCIDP, Department of Pharmacy, Children’s Hospital Colorado, 13123 E 16th Ave, Box 375, Aurora, CO 80045, USA, (720)-777-5751, kira.frappa@childrenscolorado.org Funding This work was unfunded. Conflict(s) of Interest The authors have no conflicts of interest. Background Antibiotic Awareness Week (AAW) occurs once each year and is intended to raise awareness about the importance of appropriate antimicrobial use. Antimicrobial stewardship (AS) teams across the world provide targeted education and promote antibiotic best practices amongst stakeholders to celebrate. The Joint Commission states that the AS program is responsible for providing education for staff on the practical applications of antibiotic stewardship. Children’s Hospital Colorado’s AS group utilized the Firstline mobile application (www.Firstline.org/colorado) to facilitate a daily quiz throughout the week of November 18th to 22nd, 2024, coinciding with AAW, to gauge the general AS knowledge base of users. Methods The AS pharmacy team solicited via email common questions seen amongst providers, in addition to the AS team’s observations. After the initial collection phase, the AS team (pharmacists and physicians) collaborated to create a sampling of 28 questions. Questions addressed a variety of AS topics such as antimicrobial spectra of activity, pathogens implicated in common infections, resistance mechanisms, and core AS concepts (e.g., IV to PO switch, surgical prophylaxis, recommended durations of therapy). The quiz was developed using REDCap®, a secure platform for building and managing online surveys and databases and delivered via daily push notification to all users and remained available throughout the day. Results There were 283 total responses with an average of 57 per day. Users from 11 different acute care and critical access facilities within Colorado took at least one quiz during the week. We asked 5 to 6 questions per day with respondents correctly answering 63.5% of the week’s 28 total questions. The most participation occurred at the beginning of the week and declined with the fewest responses on Friday. Conclusion The Firstline application was a useful tool to disseminate antimicrobial awareness and education across the state of Colorado. Future directions include optimizing a quiz for the upcoming year and getting feedback from users about the experience. We would also like to explore the implications of the quiz in meeting Joint Commission education requirements, and educational efforts going forward.