Nurse Perceptions of Barriers to Infection Prevention and Control in Labor and Delivery.

Objective: To identify nurse perceptions of barriers to performing recommended infection prevention and control practices in labor and delivery to inform future resources tailored to this setting.

Design: Qualitative focus groups.

Setting: The 2023 annual convention of the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses, New Orleans, LA.

Physician perceptions of barriers to infection prevention and control in labor and delivery.

Objective: To learn about the perceptions of healthcare personnel (HCP) on the barriers they encounter when performing infection prevention and control (IPC) practices in labor and delivery to help inform future IPC resources tailored to this setting.

Design: Qualitative focus groups.

Setting: Labor and delivery units in acute-care settings.

Burnout and staff turnover among certified nursing assistants working in acute care hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Introduction: Healthcare worker burnout is a growing problem in the United States which affects healthcare workers themselves, as well as the healthcare system as a whole. The goal of this qualitative assessment was to understand factors that may lead to healthcare worker burnout and turnover through focus groups with Certified Nursing Assistants who worked in acute care hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: Eight focus group discussions lasting approximately 30 minutes each were held remotely from October 2022-January 2023 with current and former Certified Nursing Assistants who worked during the COVID-19 pandemic in acute care hospitals.

Assessing the Impact of 2-Step Clostridioides difficile Testing at the Healthcare Facility Level.

Background: Two-step testing for Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) aims to improve diagnostic specificity but may also influence reported epidemiology and patterns of treatment. Some providers fear that 2-step testing may result in adverse outcomes if C. difficile is underdiagnosed.

Making a C-DIFFerence: Implementation of a prevention collaborative to reduce hospital-onset infection rates.

Objective: To assist hospitals in reducing infections (CDI), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) implemented a collaborative using the CDC CDI prevention strategies and the Targeted Assessment for Prevention (TAP) Strategy as foundational frameworks.

Setting: Acute-care hospitals.

Methods: We invited 400 hospitals with the highest cumulative attributable differences (CADs) to the 12-month collaborative, with monthly webinars, coaching calls, and deployment of the CDC CDI TAP facility assessments.

Evaluation of a Virtual Training to Enhance Public Health Capacity for COVID-19 Infection Prevention and Control in Nursing Homes.

Context: Between April 2020 and May 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) awarded more than $40 billion to health departments nationwide for COVID-19 prevention and response activities. One of the identified priorities for this investment was improving infection prevention and control (IPC) in nursing homes.

Program: CDC developed a virtual course to train new and less experienced public health staff in core healthcare IPC principles and in the application of CDC COVID-19 healthcare IPC guidance for nursing homes.

Remote Infection Control Assessments of US Nursing Homes During the COVID-19 Pandemic, April to June 2020.

Background: Nursing homes (NHs) provide care in a congregate setting for residents at high risk of severe outcomes from SARS-CoV-2 infection. In spring 2020, NHs were implementing new guidance to minimize SARS-CoV-2 spread among residents and staff.

Objective: To assess whether telephone and video-based infection control assessment and response (TeleICAR) strategies could efficiently assess NH preparedness and help resolve gaps.

Gaps in infection prevention practices for catheter-associated urinary tract infections and central line-associated bloodstream infections as identified by the Targeted Assessment for Prevention Strategy.

Background: Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) and central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) represent a substantial portion of health care-associated infections (HAIs) reported in the United States. The Targeted Assessment for Prevention Strategy is a quality improvement framework to reduce health care-associated infections. Data from the Targeted Assessment for Prevention Facility Assessments were used to determine common infection prevention gaps for CAUTI and CLABSI.

Implementation of the Targeted Assessment for Prevention Strategy in a healthcare system to reduce infection rates.

Background: Prevention of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is a national priority and may be facilitated by deployment of the Targeted Assessment for Prevention (TAP) Strategy, a quality improvement framework providing a focused approach to infection prevention. This article describes the process and outcomes of TAP Strategy implementation for CDI prevention in a healthcare system.

Methods: Hospital A was identified based on CDI surveillance data indicating an excess burden of infections above the national goal; hospitals B and C participated as part of systemwide deployment.

One needle, one syringe, only one time? A survey of physician and nurse knowledge, attitudes, and practices around injection safety.

Background: To inform development, targeting, and penetration of materials from a national injection safety campaign, an evaluation was conducted to assess provider knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to unsafe injection practices.

Methods: A panel of physicians (n = 370) and nurses (n = 320) were recruited from 8 states to complete an online survey. Questions, using 5-point Likert and Spector scales, addressed acceptability and frequency of unsafe practices (eg, reuse of a syringe on >1 patient).

Expert Consensus on Metrics to Assess the Impact of Patient-Level Antimicrobial Stewardship Interventions in Acute-Care Settings.

Antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) positively impact patient care, but metrics to assess ASP impact are poorly defined. We used a modified Delphi approach to select relevant metrics for assessing patient-level interventions in acute-care settings for the purposes of internal program decision making. An expert panel rated 90 candidate metrics on a 9-point Likert scale for association with 4 criteria: improved antimicrobial prescribing, improved patient care, utility in targeting stewardship efforts, and feasibility in hospitals with electronic health records.

The Likelihood of Hospital Readmission Among Patients With Hospital-Onset Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infections.

Objective: To determine whether central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) increase the likelihood of readmission.

Design: Retrospective matched cohort study for the years 2008-2009.

Setting: Acute care hospitals.

Public perceptions and preferences for patient notification after an unsafe injection.

Background: Unsafe injection practices in health-care settings often result in notification of potentially affected patients, to disclose the error and recommend blood-borne pathogens testing. Few studies have assessed public perceptions and preferences for patient notification.

Methods: Six focus groups were conducted during Fall 2009, with residents of Atlanta, GA, and New York City, NY.

Hospital staff perceptions of a legislative mandate for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus screening.

Objective: In August 2007, Illinois passed legislation mandating methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) admission screening for intensive care unit patients. We assessed hospital staff perceptions of the implementation of this law.

Design: Mixed-methods evaluation using structured focus groups and questionnaires.

Dermatologists' perceptions and practices related to community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections.

Community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) infections frequently present as skin and soft tissue infections, and, as a result, dermatologists may encounter patients with these infections. Three focus groups were conducted with dermatologists who attended the American Academy of Dermatology annual meeting in July 2005. Participants (N = 18) had a median of 20 (range, 5-29) years in practice.

Nursing staff perceptions of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and infection control in a long-term care facility.

Objectives: To assess perceptions of nursing staff regarding methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), infection control (IC) and prevention strategies, barriers to IC, and IC resources.

Design: Cross-sectional mixed methods study.

Setting: Atlanta Veterans Affairs (VA) long-term care facility (LTCF).

Prepackaged hand hygiene educational tools facilitate implementation.

The Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee released hand hygiene guidelines recommending that hospitals educate personnel to increase compliance with hand hygiene. However, few educational tools are available to assist hospitals in this effort. Eight hospitals were recruited to implement hand hygiene educational tools.