Abstract
BackgroundRegional healthcare facility surveys to quantitatively assess nosocomial infection rates are important for confirming standardized data collection and assessing health outcomes in the era of mandatory reporting. This is particularly important for the assessment of infection control policies and healthcare associated infection rates among hospitals. However, the success of such surveys depends upon high participation and representativeness of respondents.MethodsThis descriptive paper provides methodologies that may have contributed to high participation in a series of administrative, infection control, and microbiology laboratory surveys of all 31 hospitals in a large southern California county. We also report 85% (N = 72) countywide participation in an administrative survey among nursing homes in this same area.ResultsUsing in-person recruitment, 48% of hospitals and nursing homes were recruited within one quarter, with 75% recruited within three quarters.ConclusionsPotentially useful strategies for successful recruitment included in-person recruitment, partnership with the local public health department, assurance of anonymity when presenting survey results, and provision of staff labor for the completion of detailed survey tables on the rates of healthcare associated pathogens. Data collection assistance was provided for three-fourths of surveys. High compliance quantitative regional surveys require substantial recruitment time and study staff support for high participation.
Highlights
Regional healthcare facility surveys to quantitatively assess nosocomial infection rates are important for confirming standardized data collection and assessing health outcomes in the era of mandatory reporting
We further provide our interpretation of the relative value of specific strategies in contributing to high participation rates
Nursing homes were recruited for only the Administrative Survey, and among the 72 countywide nursing homes, 65(90%) agreed to participate, and 61 surveys were received
Summary
Regional healthcare facility surveys to quantitatively assess nosocomial infection rates are important for confirming standardized data collection and assessing health outcomes in the era of mandatory reporting. This is important for the assessment of infection control policies and healthcare associated infection rates among hospitals. The intent of mandatory reporting is to allow interfacility comparisons; such comparisons require standardized definitions and data collection [5,6,10,11,12,13] Regional surveys, those including both qualitative and quantitative data collection, can help ascertain estimates of healthcare-associated infection outcomes, but whether data collection, definitions, and. We further provide our interpretation of the relative value of specific strategies in contributing to high participation rates
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