Infection preventionists in public health, consultant and academic roles: Results from the 2020 APIC MegaSurvey.

BACKGROUND: Infection preventionists (IPs) work and practice in a variety of roles across many practice settings. While the health care-based IP role has been well studied, less is known about IPs who work in public health, consultant, and academic roles. METHODS: Data were collected as a subset of the Association for Professionals in Infection Prevention and Control and Epidemiology 2020 MegaSurvey. Descriptive and bivariate analyses were performed to compare the responses of 147 IPs working in public health, consulting, or academic roles. RESULTS: Respondents identified their primary IP role as public health (40%), consulting (39%), or academic (21%). Most were White and non-Hispanic females working in long-term care, acute care, and outpatient settings. Most had over 11 years of experience in health care before IP, with nursing being the most common. More consultants were certified in infection control (74%). While half of the respondents in public health reported being certified in infection control, and a third had 6 or more years of experience in infection prevention and control, they reported the lowest annual salary and satisfaction with total compensation. DISCUSSION: These findings highlight the characteristics and contributions of infection prevention and control in nontraditional roles and settings. Certification and fair compensation are crucial factors for professional development and job satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: These insights can guide future education, recruitment, and retention strategies for IPs in public health, consulting, and academic roles.

APIC Megasurvey 2020: Methodology and overview of results.

BACKGROUND: In 2015, The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) conducted the first MegaSurvey of its members to understand key aspects of their practice. Given the evolving role of Infection preventionists (IPs), it is important to understand changes in and the current practice environments of IPs, their demographics, the organizations in which they practice and the relative importance of different domains of IP practice. METHODS: The MegaSurvey 2020 was a cross-sectional, electronic survey of IPs conducted by APIC between January 21 and February 28, 2020. Descriptive statistics were calculated to describe the participants in terms of their characteristics, practice setting, compensation and IP competencies. RESULTS: 2,030 APIC members (response rate 13%) participated in the study. Results indicated that the demographic characteristics of IPs remained the same between the 2015 and 2020 surveys. Similar to 2015 data, slightly less than half of respondents are currently certified and plan to recertify. Less than 50% of IPs reported feeling adequately satisfied with their overall compensation. IPs reported spending the largest proportion of their time on surveillance and epidemiologic investigations and the least amount of time on employee and occupational health, cleaning and sterilization and education/research. CONCLUSIONS: As the healthcare industry continues to evolve, public health emergencies persist, and regulatory requirements expand, the results of the APIC MegaSurvey can inform future educational initiatives, the development of programs and ongoing hiring and retention strategies for this critical profession.

[COVID-19 vaccination strategy for employees of German hospitals: results of a survey of infection control practitioners within the B-FAST project]. / COVID-19-Impfstrategien für Beschäftigte deutscher Kliniken: Ergebnisse einer Befragung von Leitungen der (Krankenhaus­)Hygiene im Rahmen des B-FAST-Projektes.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: At the beginning of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign in Germany, employees in medical facilities were prioritised for vaccination against SARS-CoV­2 due to the high risk of exposure and contact with vulnerable groups. Hospitals were therefore encouraged to organise and implement the vaccination of their employees as soon as possible. The aim of the study was to record the practice regarding the vaccination strategy for employees in German hospitals. METHODS: In a self-developed cross-sectional study, infection control practitioners of all German university hospitals as well as non-university hospitals in Lower Saxony and Bavaria were surveyed in March 2021. The data were stratified according to the characteristics of university hospitals and non-university hospitals. RESULTS: Of 416 invitations sent out, 100 questionnaires (university hospitals: 33; non-university hospitals: 67) were completed. University hospitals reported greater vaccination capacity than non-university hospitals, but a limiting factor was uncertain vaccine supply. Vaccination information campaigns were planned or had already been conducted in 89% of clinics. About two-thirds of the respondents (70%) said they did not plan to conduct antibody tests on vaccinated employees. A follow-up of vaccinated employees to detect possible SARS-CoV­2 infections by PCR was planned by 41% of the respondents. In case of detection of SARS-CoV­2 infection, 72% of the respondents had planned further diagnostic procedures. DISCUSSION: All hospitals were able to achieve rapid implementation of COVID-19 vaccination of their employees. At the time of the survey, there was also much uncertainty regarding the management of breakthrough infections as well as the need for booster vaccinations.

Developing an infection prevention program by leveraging the APIC competency model.

Health care systems are expanding and the health care industry is growing in complexity, necessitating the importance of competent Infection Preventionists (IPs). At Northwestern Medicine, a health care system consisting of diverse facilities with varied patient populations and environments of care, the need for a standardized approach to developing competent IPs became apparent. This Infection Prevention department utilized the APIC Competency Model to develop a framework for Infection Prevention program development, including a standardized orientation guide and career ladder.

[Expectations for Pharmacists and Pharmacy Education in AST Activities].

Since 2018, high expectations have been placed on the efforts of pharmacists in infectious disease diagnostic aid via Japan's antimicrobial stewardship team (AST). We will explain this while describing the process of diagnostic aid at our institution, a university hospital, and taking into account the point of view of what is required of pharmacist by infection control doctors when performing infectious disease diagnostic aid as well. At our hospital, we implement AST rounds as infectious disease diagnostic aid for positive blood cultures, bacterial culture results, fever, long-term administration of anti-bacterial medication, example consultation cases, etc. The number of rounds has been increasing over time, totaling 5654 cases in 2018. When performing infectious disease diagnostic aid, failure to also bear in mind infection control measures can result in failed treatment and outbreaks, so AST must coordinate with infection control team (ICT). Furthermore, when engaging in infectious disease diagnostic aid, pharmacists must also participate in clinical research in order to improve the quality of treatment. Although it also depends on the facility environment they are affiliated with, it would seem to be necessary for pharmacists to verify the knowledge obtained from clinical data using a fundamental approach. Moreover, conducting education for the doctor, pharmacist, and nurse trainees who make up their fellow and future staff is another vital role of AST pharmacists.

A job analysis of knowledge and tasks for the certification in infection control and epidemiology examination.

The Certification Board in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. completed a 2020 Job Analysis to validate the contents of the Certification in Infection Control and Epidemiology (CIC) exam accurately reflects the work of the infection preventionist (IP). The Job Analysis provided evidence that knowledge and tasks were well to very well covered on the survey. These knowledge and task statements form the blueprint for the exam for the next 3-5 years.

Antimicrobial Stewardship and the Infection Control Practitioner: A Natural Alliance.

Antibiotic overuse and misuse has contributed to rising rates of multidrug-resistant organisms and Clostridioides difficile. Decreasing antibiotic misuse has become a national public health priority. This review outlines the goals of antimicrobial stewardship, essential members of the program, implementation strategies, approaches to measuring the program's impact, and steps needed to build a program. Highlighted is the alliance between antimicrobial stewardship programs and infection prevention programs in their efforts to improve antibiotic use, improve diagnostic stewardship for C difficile and asymptomatic bacteriuria, and decrease health care-associated infections and the spread of multidrug-resistant organisms.

Exploring the promise and reality of ward-based primary healthcare outreach teams conducting TB household contact tracing in three districts of South Africa.

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis (TB) household contact tracing is a form of targeted active case-finding for which community health workers ('outreach teams') in South Africa are primarily responsible for its implementation. We conducted an exploratory qualitative study to understand the role of outreach teams in delivering TB household contact tracing. METHODS: The study took place in three districts of South Africa between May 2016 and February 2017. We conducted 78 in-depth interviews (IDI) (comprising 35 key stakeholders, 31 TB index patients and 12 HHCs) and five focus group discussions (FGD) (40 outreach team members in four FGDs and 12 community stakeholders in one FGD). RESULTS: Outreach teams contributed positively by working across health-related programmes, providing home-based care and assisting with tracing of persons lost to TB care. However, outreach teams had a limited focus on TB household contact tracing activities, likely due to the broad scope of their work and insufficient programmatic support. Outreach teams often confused TB household contact tracing activities with finding persons lost to TB care. The community also had some reservations on the role of outreach teams conducting TB household contact tracing activities. CONCLUSIONS: Creating awareness among outreach workers and clinic personnel about the importance of and activities related to TB household contact tracing would be required to strengthen the delivery of TB household contact tracing through the community-based primary health care teams. We need better monitoring and evaluation systems, stronger integration within a realistic scope of work, adequate training on TB household contact tracing and TB infection prevention control measures. Involving the community and educating them on the role of outreach teams could improve acceptance of future activities. These timely results and lessons learned should inform contact tracing approaches in the context of COVID-19.

Challenges and opportunities in recruiting, hiring and training infection preventionists across facility settings.

BACKGROUND: Recruitment of skilled professionals for the infection preventionist (IP) role is an ongoing priority for organizations. The objective of this study was to understand differences in recruitment, hiring and training by facility setting and discuss targeted strategies for diverse organizations. METHODS: A survey study investigated recruitment, hiring and training practices for IPs and stratified by facility location (multi-location health system (MLHS), urban, suburban and rural), specifically pertaining to job description requirements, background of candidates interviewed and hired and training programs. RESULTS: A Master's in Public Health degree was significantly more frequently listed on MLHS and urban facility job descriptions (37.3%, 43.7%, respectively) than suburban (27.4%) and rural facility job descriptions (17.2%)(P < .01). Respondents from MLHS (41.3%), urban facilities (47.0%), suburban facilities (41.7%) were more likely to interview public health professionals than rural facilities (20.3%, P = .003). Respondents from MLHS, (73.3%), urban (68.4%), and suburban (62.2%) facilities were significantly more likely to use local Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology chapter for training compared to rural facilities (32.4%)(P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Our results identified differences in facility setting with recruitment, hiring and training practices. Optimizing recruitment and training best practices will result in a large and well trained IP workforce and patient safety.

Infection preventionist retention and professional development strategies: Insights from a national survey.

This brief report explores why Infection Preventionists (IPs) leave their positions and strategies implemented to retain and professionally develop IPs. National survey data of over 500 APIC members found turnover is due to personal reasons, professional advancement opportunities and work-life balance challenges. In addition, IPs are retiring in great numbers. The creation of career pathways and providing an environment that supports work-life balance are novel strategies that could retain and professionally develop IPs.

A cross sectional study of organizational factors and their impact on job satisfaction and emotional burnout in a group of Australian nurses: infection control practitioners.

BACKGROUND: Infection control practitioners (ICPs) are a group of specialized nurses fundamental to effective healthcare infection prevention and control initiatives. Relative to other groups of nurses much less is known about their working conditions. Organizational factors may impact ICPs' levels of job dissatisfaction and emotional job burnout and, subsequently, their quality of practice. We measure a range of organizational factors to document the working conditions of ICPs and show how these are linked to job satisfaction and emotional burnout in a sample of Australian ICPs. METHODS: We conducted a cross sectional study using an online survey. All employed ICPs in 50 of the largest public hospitals in Australia were invited to participate. One hundred and fifty three ICPs completed the survey. RESULTS: ICPs are moderately to highly satisfied with their job but show high levels of emotional burnout, time pressure and cognitive demands. Low job satisfaction was associated with less job control, low perceived organizational support and poor communication. In contrast, emotional burnout was associated with high time pressure and cognitive demands coupled with poor communication. DISCUSSION: This study provides new evidence about the organizational context of ICPs in Australia, and about the factors that impact on job satisfaction and emotional burnout. These findings may be used to modify national infection prevention and control programs to suit local organizational contexts. Further research is needed to determine the precise nature of these relationships and the downstream impacts on hospital-wide infection control outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Organizational context and factors are important to consider when evaluating the impact and implementation of infection control programs.

Prise en charge du travailleur de santé exposé au nouveau coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) dans un établissement de santé. Recommandations provisoires, 13 avril 2020

Cet outil aidera à déterminer le risque d’infection par le virus du SRAS-CoV-2 chez les professionnels de la santé qui ont été exposés à un patient atteint de la maladie à coronavirus (COVID-19), guidera les comportements nécessaires et fournira ensuite des recommandations pour la bonne prise en charge de ces professionnels de la santé, en fonction du risque d’infection.

Mental health status among Chinese healthcare-associated infection control professionals during the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019: A national cross-sectional survey.

ABSTRACT: Recently, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic has greatly threatened global public health. The responsibility of healthcare-associated infection control professionals (ICPs) is to prevent and control the nosocomial infections. The mental health status of ICPs deserves more attention, however, the correlational research is still lacking. This study aims to investigate the incidence and risk factors of mental health status among ICPs in China during the outbreak of COVID-19.A national cross-sectional survey was performed. The online questionnaire was completed by 9228 ICPs from 3776 hospitals throughout China. Data collection tools were used, including demographics data questionnaire, the Chinese version of the 12-item general health questionnaire (GHQ-12) and the Chinese version of the psychological capital questionnaire (PCQ) for medical staff. Univariate and multivariable analyses were conducted.The total score of mental health of Chinese ICPs was 3.45 ±â€Š2.57. 5608 (60.77%) ICPs might have mental health problems. The psychological capital was in the upper-middle level with an average score of 3.72 ±â€Š0.38. An increased mental health problem risk was associated with the greater self-efficacy and working in the public hospital; a significantly lower risk was obtained by working in the second-class hospital rather than in the third-class hospitals. Besides, mental health problem risk of ICPs working in hospitals of the western economic region or northeast economic region was more significant than that in hospitals of the central economic region. However, a lower risk was caused by the unmarried than married, and working years in department ≤1 year contributed to the lower risk than that >20 years. Moreover, fewer working hours per week, higher values of hope, and optimism each were contributed to a lower risk.Chinese healthcare-associated ICPs were under different levels of mental health problems in fighting against COVID-19. More importantly, we should actively deal with the mental health problem of ICPs and help them get rid of psychological disorders.

Recruitment and hiring practices in United States infection prevention and control departments: Results of a national survey.

BACKGROUND: Infection prevention is a profession that requires highly specified skills and clinical experience. Infection Preventionists (IPs) direct interventions that protect patients from health care-associated infections across clinical and community settings. To enhance the hiring and recruitment of diverse IPs, it is key to understand current recruitment and hiring practices METHODS: A national on-line survey was performed with members of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) who participate in the recruitment and hiring of IPs in their organization. Descriptive statistics were calculated for respondent and organizational demographics, IP recruitment strategies and hiring practices. RESULTS: In the fall of 2019, 522 APIC members from 101 of 113 APIC chapters (89% chapter response rate) participated in the survey. A vacant IP position was reported by 25% (n = 126) of respondents. Recent IP hires were primarily nurses (70%; n = 346) recruited from outside the organization (54%; n = 270). Online job-boards (eg, Indeed and Monster) and internal organizational job postings were the most frequently used recruitment strategies. CONCLUSIONS: The results provide a summary of practices for IP recruitment and hiring that can inform local and national initiatives to increase the number and professional diversity of IPs.

Developing and implementing an infection prevention and control program for a COVID-19 alternative care site in Philadelphia, PA.

BACKGROUND: On March 27, 2020, the city of Philadelphia was given permission by Temple University to convert the Liacouras Center gymnasium to an alternate care site (ACS) to treat low-acuity COVID-19 patients. ACSs, especially those created to specifically care for infectious patients, require a robust infection prevention and control (IPC) program. METHODS: The IPC program was led by a physician and nurse partnership, both of whom had substantial experience developing IPC programs in US and low-resource settings. The IPC program was framed on a previously described conceptual model commonly referred to as the "4S's": Space, Staff, Stuff, and Systems. RESULTS: The gymnasium was transformed into red, yellow, and green infection hazard zones. The IPC team trained 425 staff in critical IPC practices and personal protective equipment standards. Systems to detect staff illness were created and over 3,550 staff health screening surveys completed. DISCUSSION: Use of existing guidance and comprehensive facility and patient management assessments guided the development of the IPC program. Program priorities were to keep staff and patients safe and implement procedures to judiciously use limited resources that affect infection transmission. CONCLUSION: Planning, executing, and evaluating IPC standards and requirements of an ACS during a pandemic requires creative and nimble strategies to adapt, substitute, conserve, reuse, and reallocate IPC space, staff, stuff, and systems.

Halting a SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in a US Veterans Affairs nursing home.

A Veterans Affairs long term care facility on Long Island New York was confronted with a COVID-19 outbreak in late March to Mid-April 2020. Faced with a dwindling supply of PPE, the Infection Control team distributed supplies saved for a possible Ebola outbreak. A COVID unit was created within the nursing home facilitating the geographic isolation of cases; universal testing of residents and employees allowed for the implementation of proper quarantine measures. It was a multidisciplinary team approach led by the Infection Control team that successfully contained this outbreak.

Interest in Working as an Infection Prevention and Control Nurse and Perception of This Position by Nursing Students-Results of a Pilot Study.

Background: The results of several studies in the area of infection control in Poland are disturbing. The situation may be shaped by many factors. However, the key factor for effective infection prevention and control is dedicated personnel, especially infection prevention and control nurses (IPCN). Nevertheless, based on the available published data and the authors' experience, in many Polish hospitals infection control is not sufficiently appreciated by managers, it is consequently underfunded, and treated by medical staff as a nuisance. This may influence the nurses willingness to work as IPCN. The aim of the study was to assess the nursing students' perception of the work of IPCN and their interest in employment in this position, as well as the potential reasons for choosing this particular specialization. Materials and methods: The study was conducted using the authors' anonymous questionnaire conducted among nursing students of three Polish universities. The questionnaire was prepared by a panel of experts working in the field of infection control, including nurses working both as academic teachers and infection control nurses in hospitals. The design of the questionnaire was based on the authors' own experience, knowledge, and exchanging information with the practitioners in infection control in Poland. The reliability of the questionnaire was confirmed by the Cronbach alpha test. The raw alpha values and 95% CI for two main questions concerning opinion were: 0.76 (0.72-0.81) and 0.69 (0.63-0.75). Results: The study was conducted among 253 students, mostly women (98%) of full-time (31.4%) and extramural (68.6%) studies. The age range of the respondents was 20-58 years, median = 26 years, IQR = 19 years. To the key item in the questionnaire, i.e., "Would you like to work as an IPCN?", 84.6% (214 respondents; first group) of the respondents answered "no" and 15.4% (39 respondents, second group) answered "yes". The results revealed no significant differences between the two groups concerning the position responsibilities and appreciation by other medical staff. Additionally, for respondents willing to work as ICPN the most important issues were the influence on patient safety, expected salary, and possibility of professional development; for the respondents from the other group the most important issue was lack of contact with patients. The results concerning the students' opinion on the perception of IPCN by medical personnel proved to be peculiar. About 80% of the respondents confirmed the IPCNs' key role in ensuring patient and personnel safety, while only 31.6% declared their high standing in the hospital hierarchy. Conclusions: The obtained results indicate the necessity of thorough studies on the organization and structure of infection control in Polish hospitals, with a particular emphasis on building a positive perception of IPCNs by medical staff, as well as implementing an education campaign on infection control in the hospital environment.