Nurses’ Outlook on Healthcare-associated Infection Surveillance: Findings from Focus Group Discussions

Abstract

Infection prevention and control are fundamental in the delivery of modern healthcare. Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are indicators of flaws in healthcare quality. Active surveillance of infection helps to identify problems and evaluates the effectiveness of infection control activities. The aim of the study was to determine the factors facilitating and inhibiting the nurses in the existing HAI surveillance practices in their respective healthcare settings. A qualitative approach was followed and five focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted with 27 nurses. There were four to six participants in each FGD which were conducted to obtain the nurses’ outlook on HAI surveillance in three healthcare facilities in Karnataka, India. The nurses were selected using purposive sampling techniques based on the recommendations of the nurse administrators. The findings of the thematic analysis of the FGDs revealed six major themes. The FGDs focused mainly on identifying the role of clinical nurses in HAI surveillance. They identified that the clinical nurses were not actively involved in HAI surveillance although they could contribute significantly to the overall process of surveillance in their settings. The study concluded that although the FGD participants expressed uncertainty about their role in HAI surveillance, they demonstrated their willingness to be part of the HAI surveillance and suggested channels to implement electronic HAI (e-HAI) surveillance.