Strategies to reduce the incidence of hospital-acquired infections A systematic review of the literature

Deman Ahmed Saeed Registration No: 130228350 Supervisor: Mac Macintosh Word count: 14821

A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the MMedSci in Advancing Practice of the University of Sheffield.

Faculty of Medical Sciences The School of Nursing and Midwifery The University of Sheffield September 2014

Abstract Background: Hospital-acquired infections (HAI) are a global issue. Two million patients suffer from HAI and around 100,000 of them die every year. It has an effect on one in ten patients admitted to hospitals. HAI are a major cause of mortality, morbidity, result in additional costs and an increased length of patient’s stay in the hospital. Health organizations should be concerned to protect the safety of both patients and health care providers. Aim: The main aim of this review was to identify the strategies to prevent or reduce the incidence of hospital-acquired infections. Methods: Data was gathered by multiple electronic database searches including CINAHL via EBSCO, MEDLINE via OvidSP, Science Direct, Cochrane Library, Internurse, Scopus and Google scholar. Twelve articles met the inclusion criteria and all were quantitative studies; six cohort studies, three surveys, two systematic reviews, and one cross-sectional study. The search was limited to English language papers with years of publication from 2004 to 2014. All papers were appraised using CASP tools. Results: The outcomes of the review identified effective strategies to reduce HAI. Four themes have emerged; antimicrobial strategies, organization and management factors, education and training programme, and other interventions. Multifaceted infection control strategies can reduce hospital-acquired infections significantly. Conclusion: A combination of infection control strategies including hand hygiene, isolation, contact precautions, antimicrobial strategies, training and education programme, and antibiotic prescribing are effective to control hospital-acquired

infections successfully. However, identifying best infection control practices and using guidelines need effective and supportive organisational systems, leadership and team working to apply these findings to practice. Further research needs to be conducted.