Concordance between medical records and interview data in correctional facilities

Self- administered questionnaires or interviews and medical records are often used as sources of research data; thus it is essential to evaluate their concordance and reliability. The aim of this paper was to assess the concordance between medical and behavioral data obtained from medical records and interview questionnaires in two correctional facilities

Review of ‘Clean Hands Save Lives’, written by Thierry Crouzet

The concept that a ‘tipping point’ occurs when a behaviour or cultural norm reaches a threshold when sufficient knowledge, information, expectation and/or peer pressure is amassed is beautifully illustrated in this book, which tells the story of Dr. Pittet’s hand hygiene journey. Malcolm Gladwell popularized this idea in his 2000 bestseller, “The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make A Big Difference”. In his book, Mr. Gladwell uses the example of an epidemic such as measles which starts with a very few cases, but reaches a point at which the spread is rapid and daunting in its scope. Crouzet’s book has produced an easy-to-read narrative of Dr. Pittet’s tipping point contributions to global health through his work on hand hygiene

Carbapenem-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae Infection in Three New York City Hospitals Trended Downwards From 2006 to 2014

Background. Carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) infection is a rising public health threat since its first outbreaks in New York City (NYC) in the early 2000s. We investigated annual trends of CRKP infection in hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) and community-onset infections (COIs) treated in 3 NYC hospitals from 2006 to 2014. Methods. We extracted K pneumoniae infection data including carbapenem susceptibility and anatomical sites, compared clinical characteristics between CRKP and carbapenem-susceptible K pneumoniae infections, and determined CRKP infection proportions in total K pneumoniae infections in HAI and COI to identify statistically significant trends from 2006 to 2014 using the Cochran-Armitage trend test. Results. Carbapenem-resistant K pneumoniae contributed 17.3% (601 of 3477) of hospital-acquired K pneumoniae infection compared with 7.7% (149 of 1926) in COI from 2006 to 2014. Carbapenem-resistant K pneumoniae proportions in HAI and COI were positively correlated over time (r = 0.83, P < .01), and there were downward annual trends of CRKP proportions from 2006 to 2014 in both HAI and COI (25.8% to 10.5% in HAI, P < .001; 13.6% to 3.1% in COI, P < .001). By anatomical site, significant downward annual trends were present only in urinary tract infection (P < .001 for both HAI and COI) from 2006 to 2014. Conclusions. Annual trends of CRKP proportions from 2006 to 2014 were downward in both HAI and COI, and HAI and COI were positively correlated. Efforts to reduce and prevent CRKP infections in both hospital and community settings were successful and warrant continuation

Building a Community of Practice: Strategies Developed by Librarians in the SPARC OpenEd Leadership Program

Do you want to know how other universities develop their OER initiatives? This panel of five librarians will discuss their participation in the SPARC Open Education Leadership Program, a two-semester professional development experience aimed at building expertise and capacity to advance open education in academic libraries, and how it helped shape the development of OER initiatives at their institutions. Over two semesters, the program blends online, peer-to-peer, and project-based learning opportunities to develop participants into subject matter experts with the practical know-how to advance open education initiatives on their campuses. The panelists will discuss how their participation in the SPARC OpenEd Leadership Program has helped them actualize their visions of an OER initiative at each of their respective institutions. Participants will leave the panel with replicable strategies for effectively communicating with other Open Education coordinators, building an OER knowledge base for their institution, and utilizing methods for developing their own OER initiative. The course content developed for the SPARC program, which is published and shared under a Creative Commons Attribution license, will be shared, as well as strategies for how they can be used by practitioners outside of the program. The SPARC OpenEd Leadership Program started in August 2017 with a pilot cohort of 14 fellows selected from SPARC member libraries. Pilot fellows were both students and creators, helping to evaluate and improve the curriculum along the way. Moving forward, the program will accept a cohort of fellows each year, who upon successful completion will receive a certificate and the title of SPARC Open Education Leadership Fellow. Whether you’re interested in applying for the 2018-2019 SPARC Open Education Leadership Program or want to build your own learning community, this panel will provide you with ideas for how you can move forward in your OER project development. Strategies will be scalable for different initiatives, from building small OER outreach efforts to expanding upon an already established program. This panel is intended to support OER Coordinators and librarians, but other individuals are welcome to attend to learn about how programs like the SPARC Open Education Leadership Program could support projects underway at their own institutions

Healthcare Workers’ Hand Microbiome May Mediate Carriage of Hospital Pathogens

One function of skin microbiota is to resist colonization and infection by external microorganisms. We sought to detect whether the structure of the hand microbiota of 34 healthcare workers (HCW) in a surgical intensive care unit mediates or modifies the relationship between demographic and behavioral factors and potential pathogen carriage on hands after accounting for pathogen exposure. We used a taxonomic screen (16S rRNA) to characterize the bacterial community, and qPCR to detect presence of Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus spp., methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and Candida albicans on their dominant hands. Hands were sampled weekly over a 3-week period. Age, hand hygiene, and work shift were significantly associated with potential pathogen carriage and the associations were pathogen dependent. Additionally, the overall hand microbiota structure was associated with the carriage of potential pathogens. Hand microbiota community structure may act as a biomarker of pathogen carriage, and modifying that structure may potentially limit pathogen carriage among HCW

Measurement of Organizational Culture and Climate in Healthcare

Although there is increasing interest in the relationship between organizational constructs and health services outcomes, information on the reliability and validity of the instruments measuring these constructs is sparse. Twelve instruments were identified that may have applicability in measuring organizational constructs in the healthcare setting. The authors describe and characterize these instruments and discuss the implications for nurse administrators