Use Of Other Practices Research Articles

Healthcare-associated infection prevention and control practices in Israel: results of a national survey

BackgroundHealthcare-associated infection (HAI) is a common and largely preventable cause of morbidity and mortality. The COVID-19 pandemic has presented unprecedented challenges to health systems. We conducted a national survey to ascertain hospital characteristics and the use of HAI prevention measures in Israel.MethodsWe e-mailed surveys to infection prevention and control (IPC) leads of acute care hospitals in Israel. The survey included questions about the use of practices to prevent catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI), central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI), ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), and Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI). The survey also assessed COVID-19 impact and healthcare worker well-being.ResultsIPC leads from 15 of 24 invited hospitals (63%) completed the survey. Only one-third of respondents reported strong support for IPC from hospital leadership. Although several prevention practices were used by all hospitals (e.g., maximum sterile barrier precautions for CLABSI and real-time assessment of environmental cleaning for CDI), use of other practices was suboptimal—particularly for CAUTI and VAP. COVID-19 had a profound impact on Israeli hospitals, with all hospitals reporting opening of new units to care for COVID patients and most reporting moderate to extreme financial hardship. All hospitals reported highly successful plans to vaccinate all staff and felt confident that the vaccine is safe and effective.ConclusionWe provide a status report of the IPC characteristics and practices Israeli hospitals are currently using to prevent HAIs during the COVID-19 era. While many globally accepted IPC practices are widely implemented, opportunities to increase the use of certain IPC practices in Israeli hospitals exist.

Practices That Support and Sustain Health in Schools: An Analysis of SHPPS Data.

The Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model provides an organizing framework for schools to develop and implement school health policies, practices, and programs. The purpose of this study was to examine the presence of practices that support school health for each component of the WSCC model in US schools. Data from the School Health Policies and Practices Study 2014 were analyzed to determine the percentage of schools with practices in place that support school health for WSCC components. Less than 27% of schools had a school health council that addressed any specific WSCC component, but more than 50% had a coordinator for all but one component. The use of other practices that support school health varied widely across the WSCC components. For example, more than 80% of schools reported family engagement for health education and nutrition environment and services, but less than 50% reported family engagement for other components. These results indicate that many US schools are using practices that support school health and align with WSCC components, but improvement is needed. These results also highlight discrepancies in the types of practices being used.

Runoff Volume Reduction by a Level Spreader–Vegetated Filter Strip System in Suburban Charlotte, N.C.

The premise of low impact development (LID) is to reduce runoff volumes while simultaneously matching target (often predevelopment) infiltration and evapotranspiration volumes. Many structural practices used in LID, such as bioretention, infiltration trenches, and permeable pavement, require a seasonally high water table (SHWT) to be 1–2 m from the surface. Conversely, level spreader–vegetated filter strip systems can be implemented in locations where a SHWT would restrict the use of other practices. A 19.4 m long reinforced concrete level spreader upslope of a 900 m2 mixed grass/weed vegetated filter strip was monitored for runoff reduction for 23 precipitation events from November 2005 to January 2007 in Charlotte, N.C. The practice treated runoff from a 0.87 ha (2.15 acre) residential watershed. Of the 23 monitored events, only 3 produced outflow. All events which produced outflow exceeded 40 mm (1.6 in.) of precipitation. Cumulative volume reduction associated with the events was 85%, which compares ...