Overcoming public health challenges: The model of healthcare associated infections Surveillance methodology

Abstract

Healthcare-associated infections are infections people get while they are receiving health care for another condition and they can happen in any health care facility. In the U.S.A. alone the annual number of these infections has been estimated to 1.7 million by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Also, it is estimated that they contribute to around 99,000 deaths per year. The focus on preventive strategies is only possible if reliable data on infection rates per ward are available. For this purpose, a frequent broad-based healthcare-associated infections surveillance is necessary. The aim of this article is to present a specific type of epidemiological surveillance system called Integrated Disease Management Corporation Surveillance. Future research has a great challenge to see how to successfully implement Integrated Disease Management Corporation Surveillance into different types of health care system facilities. The emphasis in the future process of such implementation should consider the definition of quantitative share or qualitative indicator that would be able to present how much an Integrated Disease Management Corporation Surveillance, incorporated in a medical facility would be capable to result in improvement in HAI specific QoL, activities of daily living capacity, hospital admissions, and hospital days per person. Future research should evaluate which combination of Integrated Disease Management Corporation Surveillance components and which intervention duration are most effective for Integrated Disease Management Corporation Surveillance programs, and should consider contextual determinants of implementation and treatment effect, including process related outcomes, long term follow up, and cost effectiveness analyses. All of this should be tailor targeted for specific medical facility that is about to start using the Integrated Disease Management Corporation Surveillance.