Mapping of infection prevention and control education and training in some countries of the World Health Organization's Eastern Mediterranean Region: current situation and future needs.

BACKGROUND: A strong understanding of infection prevention and control (IPC) procedures and comprehensive training among healthcare workers is essential for effective IPC programs. These elements play a crucial role in breaking the chain of nosocomial infections by preventing the transmission of resistant organisms to patients and staff members. This study mapped the components of IPC education and training across various member states of the World Health Organization (WHO) in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) at national, academic, and healthcare institutional levels. METHODS: A self-administered structured online questionnaire based on the WHO "Core Component 3" of IPC programs at the national and acute healthcare facility levels (IPC education and training) was given to national IPC focal persons in each of the WHO's EMR countries between February and March 2023. RESULTS: From 14 of the 22 countries,15 IPC persons participated in the survey. Most countries have scattered nonhomogeneous IPC education programs in human health undergraduate majors without considering it a standalone module. Academic institutions are rarely involved, and elaborate and predefined undergraduate IPC education programs provided by universities are present in 21.4% of the countries. In 71.4% of these countries, postgraduate training targeting IPC professionals is provided by national IPC teams, primarily based on national IPC guidelines developed with the aid of the WHO. Generally, healthcare worker training relies heavily on healthcare facilities in 92.9% of the countries, rather than on a national training program. In 42.9% of the countries, practicing IPC physicians are not necessarily specialists of infectious disease or medical microbiologists and IPC nurses are not required to specialize in IPC. However, nonspecialized IPC professionals are expected to undergo training upon employment and before beginning practice. Nongovernmental organizations such as the WHO play a significant role in IPC education and in supporting national IPC authorities in establishing national IPC guidelines, as it is the case in 78.6% of these countries. CONCLUSION: Clear disparities exist in IPC education and training across different countries in the WHO's EMR. Establishing a regional scientific network specializing in IPC would help bridge the existing gaps and standardize this education within individual countries and across countries in the region. This region needs to establish IPC certification standards and standardized education curricula.

Shared Decision-Making Measures: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: This review used the recent COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) rating system, which gives the reader the ability to find appropriate instruments in a simple way. Shared decision-making (SDM) is part of health professionals', nurses', and patients' interaction about fundamental and special nursing care issues. The objective of this study was to critically appraise instruments that measure SDM in health care-related decisions according to the COSMIN criteria. METHODS: This review was reported in accordance with the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses) guideline. A thorough search identified SMD measures via PubMed, Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EBSCO Host, Ovid journals, SAGE journals, and Google Scholar search engine through November 2018 and updated on March 24, 2019. A rating system with "very good," "adequate," "doubtful," or "inadequate" for COSMIN was used. RESULTS: The 17 instruments reported in this review are varied in the measured perspectives; observer-based viewpoint, patient questionnaires, provider questionnaires, and physician questionnaires, or even mixed perspectives. Only one instrument (OPTION 12 Scale) received an excellent rating across all 5 COSMIN validity rating sections in content, structural, and criterion validity. CONCLUSION: Most of the instruments scored poorly on the COSMIN checklist. Despite the vast number of instruments measuring SDM, researchers must undertake critical appraisal before selecting an acceptable instrument that meets the specific research goal, as well as the quality requirements.

Seroprevalence of measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella amongphysicians and nurses in Jordan.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella can affect susceptible healthcare workers who might subsequently spread the infection to susceptible patients and workers. Here, we aim to determine the seroprevalence of these infections among physicians and nurses and to compare the history of varicella with the results of varicella antibodies among study participants. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two randomly selected groups, one group of physicians and one of nurses, from a university hospital in Jordan were interviewed and their serum IgG antibodies were measured. RESULTS: The physicians and nurses group had 252 and 241 participants, respectively. The physicians group had significantly more males and younger participants. The percentage of individuals in the physician and nurse groups with positive antibodies to measles was 75.4% and 75.1%, respectively; mumps, 88.5% and 94.2%; rubella, 89.3% and 87.1%; and varicella, 92.1% and 92.5%. Immunity was similar between the 2 groups except for mumps, where significantly more nurses were immune. The positive and negative predictive values for the history of varicella to predict immunity in all participants were 95% and 13.5%, respectively. CONCLUSION: A small but important proportion of our healthcare workers are still susceptible to measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella. In addition, the recall history to varicella showed suboptimal ability to predict immunity.