Around 4 in 5 hospitals lack the necessary staffing levels to safeguard patients from preventable infections, reveals a recent study published in the American Journal of Infection Control. Conducted by the APIC Center for Research, Practice & Innovation, the research evaluates the utility of an innovative online calculator designed to offer facility-specific recommendations for infection prevention staffing.
The study’s findings display a correlation between inadequate staffing levels and higher instances of healthcare-associated infections. In particular, harmful infections such as central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI), catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI), Clostridioides difficile infections, and colon surgical site infections were shown to occur significantly more in facilities with understaffed prevention and control programs.
The calculator tool was applied to examine 390 acute care hospitals, identifying almost 80% of them as being understaffed in the infection prevention department. This reveals the limitations of the long-standing ‘one size fits all’ approach to infection preventionist (IP) staffing, which traditionally based staffing levels on ratios of IPs per inpatient bed.
With the ever-evolving complexities of contemporary healthcare, APIC proposes a more tailored approach to IP staffing using their online calculator. This tool utilizes a predictive algorithm to allow users to input information about their specific facilities and receive targeted staffing assessments. Factors such as the type of services provided and the existence of particular units like emergency or rehabilitation units are taken into account for more precise staffing recommendations.
As the author of the study, Dr. Rebecca Bartles, sees this new calculator as an essential tool for hospitals to effectively advocate for the needed resources to ensure the safety of patients and healthcare workers. In light of the study, APIC urges hospital leaders to incorporate the staffing calculator into their operations to determine their particular IP staffing requirements.
Additionally, they appeal to the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and standard bodies to mandate the calculator’s use. APIC continuously works towards amplifying the science and practice of infection prevention and control, further enhancing patient safety and the development of the future infection prevention and control workforce.