Training infection control and hospital hygiene professionals in Europe, 2010 : agreed core competencies among 33 European countries

The harmonisation of training programmes for infection control and hospital hygiene (IC/HH) professionals in Europe is a requirement of the Council recommendation on patient safety. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control commissioned the ‘Training Infection Control in Europe’ project to develop a consensus on core competencies for IC/HH professionals in the European Union (EU). Core competencies were drafted on the basis of the Improving Patient Safety in Europe (IPSE) project’s core curriculum (CC), evaluated by questionnaire and approved by National Representatives (NRs) for IC/HH training. NRs also re-assessed the status of IC/HH training in European countries in 2010 in comparison with the situation before the IPSE CC in 2006. The IPSE CC had been used to develop or update 28 of 51 IC/HH courses. Only 10 of 33 countries offered training and qualification for IC/ HH doctors and nurses. The proposed core competencies are structured in four areas and 16 professional tasks at junior and senior level. They form a reference for standardisation of IC/HH professional competencies and support recognition of training initiatives.peer-reviewe

Implementation of Infection Control Programs in Long-Term Care Facilities, Akershus County, Norway : a Repeated Cross-Sectional Study in 2001 and 2005

Bakgrunn: Kontroll og overvåking av institusjonservervede infeksjoner (sykehusinfeksjoner) ble regulert i lov og forskrift i 1996. Helseinstitusjoner ble pålagt å ha infeksjonskontrollprogram. Hensikt: Å beskrive i hvilken utstrekning sykehjem i Akerhus fylke fulgte lovverket med å ha infeksjonskontrollprogram, inkludert infeksjonsforebyggende- og overvåkende tiltak. Metode: To tverrsnittsundersøkelser ble gjennomført i sykehjem i Akershus fylke i 2001 og 2005. En spørreundersøkelse ble utformet i 2001 for å kartlegge infeksjonskontrollprogram, inkludert lovverk, retningslinjer, ansattes helse og opplæring. I 2005 ble spørreundersøkelsen utvidet til å inkludere retningslinjer for meticillin resistente Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), isolering, samarbeid med mikrobiolgoisk laboratorie og vaksinering. Spørreskjemaet ble sendt til institusjonssjef ved hvert sykehjem i fylket. I tillegg kontrollerte vi om institusjonene deltok i nasjonale prevalens registreringer og om de hadde erfaring med beboere med MRSA ved å benytte Nasjonale Folkehelseinstitutt sin database. Resultater: Antallet sykehjem som hadde etablert infeksjonskontrollprogram hadde steget fra 24 (48%) i 2001 til 45 (80%) i 2005 (Relativ risiko (RR)=1.6, 95% Konfidens interall (KI): 1.2-2.3). Det var en økning i kjennskap til fylkets lokale infeksjonskontrollprogram (RR=1.5, 95% KI: 1.1-2.1). Institusjonssjef vurderte det svært viktig å ha et infeksjonkontrollprogram (gjennomsnitt=6.2, variasjonsbredde 6.0-6.5 på en skala fra 1 til 7). Konklusjon: Det har vært økende oppmerksomhet på infeksjonskontroll og overvåking i sykehjem i Akershus fylke, Norge. Nasjonalt lovverk og gjentatte nasjonale prevalensregistreringer av institusjonservervede infeksjoner kan ha bidratt til detteBackground:In 1996, regulations regarding control and prevention of healthcare-associated infections in all healthcare institutions were implemented in Norway. It became mandatory for all healthcare facilities to have an infection control program. Objective: To describe to what extent long-term care facilities (LTCFs) in Akershus County have implemented infection control programs including guidelines and surveillance. Methods: A repeated, cross-sectional survey was performed among the LTCFs in Akershus County in 2001 and in 2005. A questionnaire was developed in 2001 investigating infection control programs including regulatory issues, guidelines, occupational health and training. In 2005, the questionnaire was expanded to include additional questions regarding policies and guidelines on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), isolation containment, collaboration with the microbiology laboratory and immunization policies. The questionnaire was sent to the head managing nurse of each LTCF in the county. Additionally, we searched for participation of LTCFs in the national prevalence surveys on healthcare-associated infections and for MRSA positive cases in the databases of Norwegian Institute of Public Health. Results: The number of LTCFs with an infection control program increased from 24 (48%) in 2001 to 45 (80%) in 2005 (Relative risk (RR) =1.6, 95% Confidence interval (CI): 1.2-2.3). There was an increasing knowledge about the county’s infection control program (RR=1.5, 95% CI: 1.1-2.1). The LTCF’s head managing nurses perceived having an infection control program as important (mean=6.2, range 6.0-6.5 on a scale of 1 to 7). Conclusion: There has been an increased attention towards infection control in LTCFs in Akershus County, Norway. National regulations and repeated national prevalence surveys on healthcare-associated infections may have contributed to this improvement.ISBN 978-91-85721-19-1</p

Årsrapport 2017: Infeksjoner etter kirurgiske inngrep

publishedVersio

The role and utilisation of public health evaluations in Europe: a case study of national hand hygiene campaigns

To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field or click on the hyperlink at the top of the page marked Files. This article is open access.Evaluations are essential to judge the success of public health programmes. In Europe, the proportion of public health programmes that undergo evaluation remains unclear. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control sought to determine the frequency of evaluations amongst European national public health programmes by using national hand hygiene campaigns as an example of intervention.A cohort of all national hand hygiene campaigns initiated between 2000 and 2012 was utilised for the analysis. The aim was to collect information about evaluations of hand hygiene campaigns and their frequency. The survey was sent to nominated contact points for healthcare-associated infection surveillance in European Union and European Economic Area Member States.Thirty-six hand hygiene campaigns in 20 countries were performed between 2000 and 2012. Of these, 50% had undergone an evaluation and 55% of those utilised the WHO hand hygiene intervention self-assessment tool. Evaluations utilised a variety of methodologies and indicators in assessing changes in hand hygiene behaviours pre and post intervention. Of the 50% of campaigns that were not evaluated, two thirds reported that both human and financial resource constraints posed significant barriers for the evaluation.The study identified an upward trend in the number of hand hygiene campaigns implemented in Europe. It is likely that the availability of the internationally-accepted evaluation methodology developed by the WHO contributed to the evaluation of more hand hygiene campaigns in Europe. Despite this rise, hand hygiene campaigns appear to be under-evaluated. The development of simple, programme-specific, standardised guidelines, evaluation indicators and other evidence-based public health materials could help promote evaluations across all areas of public health