Care is now provided in many different settings including acute-care hospitals , nursing homes , community with programs such as hospital-at-home , same-day-surgery – just to name a few . We need to conduct high-quality of research in all these settings to fill gaps in evidence .”

patient management and treatment , with a goal of providing high-value care58 and improved patient outcomes . Most diagnostic stewardship interventions primarily focus on infectious diagnostic testing to promote principles of antibiotic stewardship and optimize surveillance for HAIs . These interventions traditionally have focused on outcome metrics that are publicly reported through NHSN , such as catheter-associated urinary tract infections ( CAUTIs ) or Clostridioides difficile infections . Diagnostic stewardship studies should also investigate effects on other relevant non-reportable events , such as non-deviceassociated urinary tract infections and catheter harm . Opportunities for diagnostic stewardship exist across the continuum of testing , from test ordering , specimen collection , test processing , reporting of results , to interpretation of results .”

Additional research areas were identified by the SRN survey participants .

Role of the environment

One of the most compelling related to infection prevention and control is the role of the environment . There are three priority areas :

➊ Quantify the risk of acquiring pathogens from the healthcare environment , including risk of infection .

➋ Identify reservoirs within the healthcare environment that are most important for to pathogen transmission to patients .

➌ Determine strategies to improve quality of cleaning and disinfection through application of existing technologies , new methods , and novel approaches .

The research agenda authors acknowledge that there are several gaps that persist in our understanding of how patients become infected with pathogens from the healthcare environment and how to prevent transmission . They observe , “ Although studies have repeatedly demonstrated that contamination of the healthcare environment occurs , its relative contribution to HAIs is unknown . The risk of infection has been associated with prior room occupants , potentially due to inadequate terminal room cleaning ; however , studies attempting to demonstrate this risk directly are limited . Additionally , cohort studies have shown that positive environmental cultures predict contamination of HCP , supporting the idea that environmental contamination can result in transmission of pathogens to adjacent patients . Further research is required to quantify the risk of transmission with subsequent HAIs to better define quantitative , intermediate goals .”

Additionally , Kwon , et al . ( 2024 ) say that our understanding is still evolving about the reservoirs that harbor epidemiologically important pathogens in healthcare environments , noting that , “ Although high-touch surfaces and hand or glove contamination are known vehicles , other

The Infection Prevention Exchange

By MD-Medical Data Quality & Safety Advisors , LLC

The IPEX Bundle

• Data

• Process Improvement

• Technology • Artificial Intelligence

Patient & Staff Safety

Patient Satisfaction Scores improved LeapFrog Scores improved

Financial & Operational Efficiencies 50-75 % Reductions in cost of infection

HEALTHCARE-ASSOCIATED INFECTIONS

Contact Tracing

50-75 % Reductions in infections

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