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Healthcare Personnel Compliance With Infection Prevention Imperatives

So much of the infection preventionist’s time has traditionally been spent in the pursuit of healthcare personnel education and training on infection control-related principles and practices, with varying degrees of success measured through compliance metrics. Be it hand hygiene compliance percentages, terminal cleaning effectiveness rates, or various infection prevention bundles, compliance can be suboptimal in many healthcare institutions - and healthcare workers freely admit it. For example, Yassi, et al. (2007) assessed the determinants of healthcare worker self-reported compliance with infection control procedures via a survey of personnel in 16 healthcare facilities. A strong correlation was found between both environmental and organizational factors and self-reported compliance; no relationship was found with individual factors. The researchers found that only 5 percent of survey respondents rated their training in infection control as excellent, and 30 percent felt they were not offered the necessary training. The investigators concluded that compliance with infection control procedures is tied to environmental factors and organizational characteristics, suggesting that efforts to improve availability of equipment and promote a safety culture are key. They added that training should be offered to high-risk personnel, demonstrating an organizational commitment to their safety.   We spoke with Sue Barnes, RN, CIC, the national leader of infection prevention and control in the Program Office for Kaiser Permanente in California, for her perspective on issues relating to boosting compliance with infection prevention and control imperatives, and what clinical issues are driving interventions.

Healthcare Surfaces Summit: A Cutting-Edge Collaboration

Healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) continue to be a challenge for healthcare professionals today. Despite increased attention to infection control protocol and increased focus on personal protection there has not been any sustainable reductions in the spread of infection. This leaves healthcare workers, patients and the general public continually at risk.

Cholera Vaccine Supply Set to Double, Easing Global Shortage

The global supply of oral cholera vaccines (OCV) is set to double after the World Health Organization (WHO) approved a third producer, helping to address global shortages and expand access in more countries. Globally, OCV production is low, with demands currently exceeding supply. Sudan and Haiti last year made requests to WHO for supplies of vaccines to conduct pre-emptive vaccination campaigns that could not be filled because of the global shortage.

Ebola Medical Team Develops Guidelines for Treating Infected Children

When the Ebola virus outbreak erupted in West Africa in 2014, children infected with the virus -- particularly those under age 5 -- faced overwhelming challenges. Not only was there a high death rate among young children infected with the disease, they often were isolated from their families, leaving them feeling distressed and without the intensive care they needed.

UC San Diego Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Janssen R&D Collaborate to Treat Chagas Disease

Researchers at the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of California, San Diego have entered into a research collaboration with Janssen Research & Development, LLC (Janssen R&D), one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, to identify new therapeutic targets for Chagas disease, a parasitic infection that is the leading cause of heart failure in Latin America.

Antibiotics Pave the Way for C. diff Infections by Killing Bile Acid-Altering Bacteria

New research from North Carolina State University and the University of Michigan finds that bile acids which are altered by bacteria normally living in the large intestine inhibit the growth of Clostridium difficile, or C. diff. C. diff is a harmful bacterium that can cause painful and sometimes fatal infections. The work sheds light on the ways in which some commonly used antibiotics can promote C. diff infections by killing off the bile acid-altering microbes.

Johns Hopkins APL Team Visits Washington for Dengue Prediction Challenge Win

Research from the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Md., into better methods of predicting outbreaks of the mosquito-borne dengue virus was selected for presentation in September at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building - part of the White House complex. The APL team had developed new options for forecasting the spread of dengue fever, which affects up to an estimated 390 million people annually worldwide.

OCT May Speed Detection of Pneumonia-Related Bacteria in ICU Patients

The ability to better detect and assess bacteria linked to a form of pneumonia prevalent in hospital intensive care units (ICUs) could soon become possible, according to research reported in the latest issue of the Journal of Biomedical Optics. The journal is published by SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics.