Antibiotic prescribing can be conceptualised as a social dilemma in which the overuse of antibiotics, to minimise immediate risks to individual patients, results in a sub-optimal outcome for society (antimicrobial resistance) and increased risks to all patients in the long run. Doctors face the challenge of balancing the interests of individual patients against the collective good when prescribing antibiotics. While evidence suggests that doctors tend to prioritise individual interests over those of the collective, the conventional interpretation of such decisions as selfish may be inappropriate because most doctors are motivated by prosocial concerns about their patients. This review of antibiotic decision research provides a more nuanced understanding of prosociality in the context of the social dilemma of antibiotic prescribing.

抗生素处方可以被概念化为一种社会困境，其中过度使用抗生素以尽量减少对个体患者的直接风险，从长远来看会导致社会的次优结果（抗生素耐药性）并增加所有患者的风险。医生在开抗生素处方时面临着平衡个体患者利益与集体利益的挑战。尽管有证据表明医生倾向于将个人利益置于集体利益之上，但将此类决定视为自私的传统解释可能并不恰当，因为大多数医生的动机是出于对患者的亲社会关注。在抗生素处方的社会困境背景下，对抗生素决策研究的这篇综述提供了对亲社会性的更细致入微的理解。