The experience of infection prevention and control nurse (IPCN) in conducting post-discharge surveillance (PDS) of surgical site infections (SSI): A qualitative study.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Surgical Site infections (SSI) are healthcare-associated infections (HAI) resulting from surgical procedures, which can increase morbidity, mortality, and economic burden. SSI surveillance is useful for detecting the magnitude of SSI cases and evaluating the impact of SSI prevention implementation. Post-discharge surveillance (PDS) of SSIs may identify more significant cases. To the best of our knowledge, there is no research exploring the experiences of Infection Prevention and Control Nurse (IPCN) in conducting PDS of SSI. METHODS: To explore the experience of IPCN in conducting PDS of SSI. A qualitative transcendent phenomenological (descriptive) research, using a purposive sampling technique with 15 informants from 9 hospitals in Indonesia. Data were collected through in-depth direct and semi-structured interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis through Nvivo 12 plus software. RESULTS: Five themes were generated, including the stages of PDS of SSI, the collaborative role of PDS of SSI officers, inhibiting factors of PDS of SSI, supporting factors of PDS of SSI, and optimization of PDS of SSI. CONCLUSION: This study provides a deep understanding of the implementation PDS of SSI through an exploration of IPCN experiences, offering insights into the execution and various challenges faced by hospitals in conducting PDS of SSI.