Using a handheld UV device for disinfection in the patient care environment: A descriptive qualitative study.

Frontline nurses play a critical role in the prevention of healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) through daily practices of hand hygiene and decontamination of surfaces. Despite these practices, environmental contamination and HAIs persist. Emerging use of UV light at wavelengths safe for human exposure provides additional strategies for disinfecting the patient care environment. The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore frontline nursing feedback regarding a novel handheld UV device prototype. A convenience sample of nurses were invited to participate in facilitated individual or small group discussions led by one member of the research team. Thematic analysis of discussion transcripts was completed by two members of the research team. Sixteen registered nurses participated. Four themes found in the study were time considerations, complexity, safety (patient and nurse), and characteristics of technology to improve patient care. Findings suggest that while nursing staff are willing to use technology, it must be considered valuable to patient care and should not hinder the provision of care. Inclusion of inputs from nursing staff for development of technology identifies potential barriers to acceptance and use in the practice environment.

Efficacy of a filtered far-UVC handheld disinfection device in reducing the microbial bioburden of hospital surfaces.

BACKGROUND: The filtered far-UV-C (FFUV) handheld disinfection device is a small portable device that emits far UV-C at 222 nm. The objective of this study was to evaluate the device's ability to kill microbial pathogens on hospital surfaces and compare it to manual disinfection using germicidal sodium hypochlorite wipes. METHODS: A total of 344 observations (4 observations from 86 objects' surfaces) were sampled with 2 paired samples per surface: a pre- and a post-sodium hypochlorite and FFUV sample. The results were analyzed via a Bayesian multilevel negative binomial regression model. RESULTS: The estimated mean colony counts for the sodium hypochlorite control and treatment groups were 20.5 (95% uncertainty interval: 11.7-36.0) and 0.1 (0.0-0.2) colony forming units (CFUs), respectively. The FFUV control and treatment groups had mean colony counts of 22.2 (12.5-40.1) and 4.1 (2.3-7.2) CFUs. The sodium hypochlorite group and the FFUV group had an estimated 99.4% (99.0%-99.7%) and 81.4% (76.2%-85.7%) reduction in colony counts, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The FFUV handheld device effectively reduced the microbial bioburden on surfaces in the health care setting. The major benefit of FFUV is likely seen when manual disinfection is not possible or when supplementing cleaners or disinfectants with the low-level disinfection properties.

A pilot of a veteran suicide prevention learning collaborative among community organizations: Initial results and outcomes.

INTRODUCTION: Veteran suicide remains an ongoing public health concern in need of fresh, community-based initiatives. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has built an enterprise-wide integrated behavioral health system that has pioneered numerous suicide prevention methods. However, most Veterans receive healthcare outside the VA, from organizations that may not be equipped to address Veteran suicide risk. One solution is implementing a VA/community suicide prevention learning collaborative to support organizations in implementing suicide prevention best practices for Veterans. Although learning collaboratives have a history of supporting improved patient safety in healthcare systems, to our knowledge, none have focused on Veteran suicide prevention. METHOD: The current quality improvement project sought to pilot a VA/community suicide prevention learning collaborative in the broader Denver and Colorado Springs areas with 13 organizations that served, interacted with, or employed Veterans. RESULTS: The collaborative had a large footprint in the region, with organizations interacting with over 24,000 community members and over 5000 Veterans. Organizations implemented 92 Veteran suicide prevention program components within a 16-month period. Overall, the learning collaborative made significant strides in Veteran suicide prevention. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that this method facilitates rapid implementation of Veteran suicide prevention practices and may be promising for accelerating uptake within communities.

The Veterans Affairs Patient Safety Center of Inquiry-Suicide Prevention Collaborative: Creating Novel Approaches to Suicide Prevention Among Veterans Receiving Community Services.

BACKGROUND: While the US Department of Veterans Affairs has made significant strides to prevent veteran suicide, efforts have largely targeted veterans actively engaged in and eligible for Veterans Health Administration (VHA) care, which is consistent with the VHA mission. The majority of veterans are not enrolled in VHA care, and many are ineligible for services. Veterans not connected to VHA have experienced an increase in suicides in recent years. OBSERVATIONS: Since 2018, VHA National Center for Patient Safety has funded the Patient Safety Center of Inquiry-Suicide Prevention Collaborative (PSCI-SPC), which has worked to develop, implement, and evaluate practical solutions aimed at curbing the rising suicide rate among veterans not receiving VHA care. PSCI-SPC has 3 guiding objectives: (1) Develop and test a collaborative, organizational structure to connect VHA and community organizations, such as national, local, public, private, nonprofit, and academic partners who provide high-quality and timely health care; (2) Build and test a learning collaborative to facilitate sharing of VHA suicide prevention best practices with community partners to increase availability, consistency, and quality of mental health services for all veterans; and (3) Implement, test, and refine a novel program to provide affordable suicide prevention interventions to veterans with mental health needs, regardless of their use of, or eligibility for, VHA services. This paper details the current progress for this demonstration project. As these objectives are met, PSCI-SPC will create and disseminate products to support broad implementation of these practices to other VA medical centers and the communities they are embedded in. CONCLUSIONS: PSCI-SPC seeks to fill an important gap in veteran health care by serving as a national clinical innovation and dissemination center for best practices in suicide prevention for veterans who receive care in their communities.