Evaluating infection prevention and control programs in Austrian acute care hospitals using the WHO Infection Prevention and Control Assessment Framework

Abstract Background Infection prevention and control (IPC) is crucial for patient safety. The World Health Organization (WHO) has released various tools to promote IPC. In 2018, the WHO released the Infection Prevention and Control Assessment Framework (IPCAF) that enables acute care healthcare faci...

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Main Authors: Seven Johannes Sam Aghdassi, Andrea Grisold, Agnes Wechsler-Fördös, Sonja Hansen, Peter Bischoff, Michael Behnke, Petra Gastmeier
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2020-06-01
Series:Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control
Subjects:
WHO
Online Access:http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13756-020-00761-2
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spelling doaj-065a01ac067340ca9b60b964b178052f2020-11-25T03:46:46ZengBMCAntimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control2047-29942020-06-01911910.1186/s13756-020-00761-2Evaluating infection prevention and control programs in Austrian acute care hospitals using the WHO Infection Prevention and Control Assessment FrameworkSeven Johannes Sam Aghdassi0Andrea Grisold1Agnes Wechsler-Fördös2Sonja Hansen3Peter Bischoff4Michael Behnke5Petra Gastmeier6Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Institute of Hygiene and Environmental MedicineD&R Institute of Hygiene, Microbiology and Environmental Medicine, Medical UniversityAustrian Society of Hygiene, Microbiology and Preventive MedicineCharité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Institute of Hygiene and Environmental MedicineCharité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Institute of Hygiene and Environmental MedicineCharité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Institute of Hygiene and Environmental MedicineCharité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Institute of Hygiene and Environmental MedicineAbstract Background Infection prevention and control (IPC) is crucial for patient safety. The World Health Organization (WHO) has released various tools to promote IPC. In 2018, the WHO released the Infection Prevention and Control Assessment Framework (IPCAF) that enables acute care healthcare facilities to evaluate IPC structures and practices. Data regarding IPC implementation in Austria are scarce. To deliver insights into this topic and promote the IPCAF within the Austrian IPC community, we decided to invite all Austrian hospitals participating in the German nosocomial infection surveillance system to conduct a self-assessment using the WHO IPCAF. Methods The IPCAF follows the eight WHO core components of IPC. A German translation of the IPCAF was sent to 127 Austrian acute care hospitals. The survey period was from October to December 2018. Participation in the survey, data entry and transfer to the German national reference center for surveillance of healthcare-associated infections was on a voluntary basis. Results Altogether, 65 Austrian hospitals provided a complete dataset. The overall median IPCAF score of all hospitals was 620 (of a possible maximum score of 800), which corresponded to an advanced level of IPC. Of the 65 hospitals, 38 achieved an advanced IPC level. Deeper analysis of the different core components yielded diverse results. Scores were lowest for core components on multimodal strategies for implementation of IPC interventions, and IPC education and training. Around 26% (n = 17) of hospitals reported that the local IPC team was not steadily supported by an IPC committee. Senior clinical staff was not present in the IPC committee in 23% (n = 15) of hospitals. Only 26% (n = 17) of hospitals reported employing at least one IPC professional per ≤250 beds. Surveillance for multidrug-resistant pathogens was not conducted in 26% (n = 17) of hospitals. Conclusions Implementation of IPC key aspects is generally at a high level in Austria. However, potentials for improvement were demonstrated, most prominently with regard to staffing, IPC education and training, effective implementation of multimodal strategies, and involvement of professional groups. Our survey demonstrated that the IPCAF is a useful tool for IPC self-assessment and can uncover deficits even in a high-income setting like Austria.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13756-020-00761-2Infection preventionSelf-assessmentSurveyWHOAustria
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Seven Johannes Sam Aghdassi
Andrea Grisold
Agnes Wechsler-Fördös
Sonja Hansen
Peter Bischoff
Michael Behnke
Petra Gastmeier
spellingShingle Seven Johannes Sam Aghdassi
Andrea Grisold
Agnes Wechsler-Fördös
Sonja Hansen
Peter Bischoff
Michael Behnke
Petra Gastmeier
Evaluating infection prevention and control programs in Austrian acute care hospitals using the WHO Infection Prevention and Control Assessment Framework
Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control
Infection prevention
Self-assessment
Survey
WHO
Austria
author_facet Seven Johannes Sam Aghdassi
Andrea Grisold
Agnes Wechsler-Fördös
Sonja Hansen
Peter Bischoff
Michael Behnke
Petra Gastmeier
author_sort Seven Johannes Sam Aghdassi
title Evaluating infection prevention and control programs in Austrian acute care hospitals using the WHO Infection Prevention and Control Assessment Framework
title_short Evaluating infection prevention and control programs in Austrian acute care hospitals using the WHO Infection Prevention and Control Assessment Framework
title_full Evaluating infection prevention and control programs in Austrian acute care hospitals using the WHO Infection Prevention and Control Assessment Framework
title_fullStr Evaluating infection prevention and control programs in Austrian acute care hospitals using the WHO Infection Prevention and Control Assessment Framework
title_full_unstemmed Evaluating infection prevention and control programs in Austrian acute care hospitals using the WHO Infection Prevention and Control Assessment Framework
title_sort evaluating infection prevention and control programs in austrian acute care hospitals using the who infection prevention and control assessment framework
publisher BMC
series Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control
issn 2047-2994
publishDate 2020-06-01
description Abstract Background Infection prevention and control (IPC) is crucial for patient safety. The World Health Organization (WHO) has released various tools to promote IPC. In 2018, the WHO released the Infection Prevention and Control Assessment Framework (IPCAF) that enables acute care healthcare facilities to evaluate IPC structures and practices. Data regarding IPC implementation in Austria are scarce. To deliver insights into this topic and promote the IPCAF within the Austrian IPC community, we decided to invite all Austrian hospitals participating in the German nosocomial infection surveillance system to conduct a self-assessment using the WHO IPCAF. Methods The IPCAF follows the eight WHO core components of IPC. A German translation of the IPCAF was sent to 127 Austrian acute care hospitals. The survey period was from October to December 2018. Participation in the survey, data entry and transfer to the German national reference center for surveillance of healthcare-associated infections was on a voluntary basis. Results Altogether, 65 Austrian hospitals provided a complete dataset. The overall median IPCAF score of all hospitals was 620 (of a possible maximum score of 800), which corresponded to an advanced level of IPC. Of the 65 hospitals, 38 achieved an advanced IPC level. Deeper analysis of the different core components yielded diverse results. Scores were lowest for core components on multimodal strategies for implementation of IPC interventions, and IPC education and training. Around 26% (n = 17) of hospitals reported that the local IPC team was not steadily supported by an IPC committee. Senior clinical staff was not present in the IPC committee in 23% (n = 15) of hospitals. Only 26% (n = 17) of hospitals reported employing at least one IPC professional per ≤250 beds. Surveillance for multidrug-resistant pathogens was not conducted in 26% (n = 17) of hospitals. Conclusions Implementation of IPC key aspects is generally at a high level in Austria. However, potentials for improvement were demonstrated, most prominently with regard to staffing, IPC education and training, effective implementation of multimodal strategies, and involvement of professional groups. Our survey demonstrated that the IPCAF is a useful tool for IPC self-assessment and can uncover deficits even in a high-income setting like Austria.
topic Infection prevention
Self-assessment
Survey
WHO
Austria
url http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13756-020-00761-2
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