Example items exploring barriers/enablers to GP consulting and antibiotic seeking behaviours, based on the COM-B model of behaviour change11 (asked at the end of a series of symptoms in Bug Watch)
| COM-B domain | Example barrier/enabler belief statements |
| Capability (psychological) | ‘I thought antibiotics would be effective in treating my symptoms’ ‘I did not know what other treatments were available’ |
| Capability (physical) | ‘I felt too unwell to travel to the GP practice’ |
| Opportunity (social) | ‘I was encouraged by others to go see my GP’ ‘My GP discussed alternatives ways of managing my symptoms’ ‘I was involved in the decision of whether or not to take antibiotics’ |
| Opportunity (physical) | ‘I was unable to take time off work to recover without taking antibiotics’ ‘Other treatments were too expensive’ ‘It was easy to get a GP appointment’ |
| Motivation (reflective) | ‘I felt confident in safely treating my symptoms without antibiotics’ ‘I did not think I would get better as quickly without antibiotics’ |
| Motivation (automatic) | ‘I was worried about my symptoms’ ‘I always go see my GP when I have these types of symptoms’ ‘I felt reassured that I could safely manage my symptoms without antibiotics’ |
COM-B, Capability, Motivation, Opportunity, Behaviour; GP, General Practitioner.