What is a Hospital Acquired Infection (HAI)?
An infection that is not active prior to healthcare interventions. Often a result of poor infection control compliance.
– Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America
Why is this important?
- Increasing bacterial resistance to traditional antibiotic treatment.
- Bacteria are tougher than ever!
- Higher acuity of patients living in the community.
- Increasing daily exposure to bacteria and other potential pathogens.
“In hospitals, 1 out of 20 patients develops an HAI.”
“Nationwide, 2 million people develop an HAI each year.”
“Nearly 99,000 of these patients die as a result of their infection.”
– Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America
Healthcare Professional (HCP) Prevention
- Adhere to proper hand hygiene
- Use of appropriate isolation precautions
- Meticulous disinfection/sterilization of medical equipment
- Proper use of aseptic technique
- Proper disposal of biohazards materials and sharps
- Surveillance and monitoring infections
- Patient education
What can I do to protect myself?
- Hand washing
- (the number on way to reduce the spread of infection!)
- Maintain a healthy lifestyle, include exercise and nutritional diet.
- Advocate for yourself! Ask your HCPs if they washed their hands!
- Know signs and symptoms of infection and seek early treatment
- Stay up to date on immunizations/vaccines
- Minimize time spent in medical facilities
It’s in your hands!
References
(2015). Fox News Should I worry about hospital-acquired infections? [mp3]. Available from YouTube https://youtu.be/OKfBUWt4RtQ.
Fox, C., Wavra, T., Drake, D., Mulligan, D., Jones, L., & Bennett, Y. (2015). Use of patient hand hygiene protocol to reduce hospital-acquired infections and improve nurses’ hand washing. American journal of critical care, 24(3), 216-224. http://dx.doi.org/10.4037/ajcc2015898
Garrett Jr, J. H. (2015). A Review of the CDC Recommendations for Prevention of HAIs in Outpatient Setting. AORN Journal, 101(5), 519-528. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.aorn.2015.02.007
Loffler, H., Bruckner, T., Diepgen, T., & Effendy, I. (2006). Primary prevention in health care employees: a prospective intervention study with a 3-year training period. Contact Dermatitis, 54, 202-209. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.0105-1873.2006.00825
Paulo, L. (2008). Hospital-Acquired Infections can be deadly [mp3]. Available from YouTube https://youtu.be/OejyDFEd-2c.
Spruce, L. (2013). Back to basics: hand hygiene and surgical hand antisepsis. AORN, 98(50), 449-460. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.aorn.2013.08.017
Walsh, M.D., E., & McCoy, N. (2008). PBS Second Opion Hospital Acquired Infection (Peter Seigal, M.D., Interviewer) [mp3]. Available from YouTube https://youtu.be/eHjWPkOtAaw.