[Investigation on capacity of provincial parasitic diseases control institutions in main clonorchiasis-endemic areas of China].

OBJECTIVE: To understand the status and capability of professionals at provincial parasitic diseases control institutions in main clonorchiasis-endemic areas of China. METHODS: The status and capacity of professionals at four provincial parasitic diseases control institutions were collected using questionnaire surveys, including Guangdong, Guangxi, Heilongjiang and Jilin, and the data were analyzed. RESULTS: There were totally 37 professionals working on parasitic diseases control in the four provincial institutions in 2018, including 33 full-time and 4 part-time professionals, and there were 12, 16, 3 and 6 professionals working at Guangdong, Guangxi, Heilongjiang and Jilin provincial institutions, respectively. Of the 37 professionals, there were 24.32%, 37.84% and 37.84% at ages of 35 years and lower, 35 to 45 years, and greater than 45 years. Men consisted of 54.05% of all professionals, and 86.49% had an education of bachelor and above, while 78.38% had a title of moderate or above. Among all professionals, there were 29 responsible for clonorchiasis prevention and control; however, they all participated in the prevention and control of other parasitic diseases; 33 professionals were able to prepare Kato-Katz smears and 34 read the smears; 30 professionals were able to detect metacercaria in fishes, and 24 and 16 professionals were able to perform immunological and mo-lecular tests. In addition, 26 professionals participated in provincial projects, 19 in national projects; however, few professionals participated in international projects or undertook provincial, national or international projects. Furthermore, there were 34 professionals (91.89%) participating in national trainings on parasitic diseases; however, only 12 (32.43%) completed a training for more than one week. CONCLUSIONS: There are few professionals at provincial parasitic diseases control institutions in main clonorchiasis-endemic areas of China, and they have a relative high capability in parasitic disease control; however, their research capacity is relative weak.

Value of certification in infection prevention and control.

The Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology conducted a marketing research study to determine the perceived value of the certification in infection prevention and control among infection prevention professionals and other stakeholders. Four thematic categories were identified: certification process and standards; professionalism, competency, and career growth; patient care, safety, infection prevention and control; and regulatory compliance. Respondents stated that certification demonstrated professional competency, increased career growth, improved regulatory compliance, was important in influencing legislation, and improved the practice of infection prevention and control. Opportunities were to reevaluate eligibility criteria and examination difficulty; demonstrate how certification increases financial compensation and organizational recognition; and offer recertification through continuing education based on the study findings, strategic recommendations and next steps were incorporated into the strategic plan. This article is an overview and summarizes the study findings.

Understanding the current state of infection preventionists through competency, role, and activity self-assessment.

BACKGROUND: The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) MegaSurvey, administered in 2015, was completed by approximately 4,079 APIC members. The survey sought to gain a better understanding the current state of 4 components of infection prevention practice: demographic characteristics, compensation, organizational structure, and practice and competency. METHODS: The data for this analysis come from the APIC MegaSurvey Practice and Competency domain. Descriptive statistics and χ2 analyses were conducted to examine differences in infection preventionist (IP) competency, roles, and activity self-assessments. RESULTS: The majority of IPs self-assessed their competency as Proficient compared with Novice or Expert for each of the 8 IP core competency activities. Forty percent of IPs self-rated their competency as Expert in the Preventing/Controlling the Transmission of Infectious Agents/HAIs component. IPs reported Novice competency in Employee/Occupational Health (29%); Cleaning, Sterilization, Disinfection, and Asepsis (23%); and Education and Research categories (22%). Differences in self-rated competency among IPs by discipline type (public health, nurse, and laboratory) were identified. CONCLUSIONS: Differences in self-rated competency were identified for each of the 8 IP core competency activities. IPs report using various resource types to gain competency. Future research is needed to identify opportunities to increase competency levels in the weakest-rated competency activities.

APIC MegaSurvey: Methodology and overview.

BACKGROUND: Infection preventionists (IPs) play key roles in preventing health care-associated infections and ensuring quality of care. To develop strategies to support comprehensive infection prevention practice, it is critical to understand key aspects of their practice. METHODS: A task force of expert IPs, staff representatives from the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), and survey designers developed and pilot tested a survey addressing 4 components of infection prevention practice: demographic characteristics, compensation, organizational structure, and practice and competency. RESULTS: During mid- to late-2015, 4,078 APIC members (response rate 31%) participated in the study. Results indicated that all of the practice domains of the APIC Competency Model for the Infection Preventionist were rated as "important" or "very important" to supervisors or managers of IPs. Surveillance and investigation accounted for the most time in an IPs typical day, followed by prevention and control of transmission, identification of infection, and management and communication. DISCUSSION: Future analyses will examine the validity of the APIC Competency Model for the Infection Preventionist; factors related to professional development, including addressing the needs of IPs who may be ready for certification; and current compensation of IPs. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the APIC MegaSurvey can be used to guide development of programs and initiatives for the future of infection prevention.

Infection prevention and control practitioners: improving engagement.

Every healthcare worker plays a vital part in minimising the risk of cross infection. Infection prevention and control (IPC) practitioners have the skills and competencies to assist organisations in improving engagement among staff and play a vital part in achieving this. IPC practitioners have skills in clinical practice, education, research and leadership, and these skills ensure high-quality care for patients and support strategies for engaging staff. This article highlights how IPC practitioners' skills and competencies are required for preventing infection and improving staff engagement. Engaged staff generate positive outcomes for both patients and staff, which is a welcome result for all healthcare organisations.

[Authorized Qualifications of Staff Conducting Examinations in the Field of Clinical Microbiology].

Because of the increase in healthcare-associated infections, appearance of highly resistant bacteria, and that of emerging/re-emerging infectious diseases, it is necessary for the skills of clinical microbiological technologists and the associated technology to be improved. Technologist in Microbiology (4,717 certified) and Specialist in Microbiology (58 certified) are authorized qualifications in the field of examination for clinical microbiology, with a history of 60 years, and Clinical Microbiological Technologist (670 certified) and Infection Control Microbiological Technologist (ICMT) (528 certified) are necessary qualifications to become a member of an infection control team. As problems to be resolved, clarifying the relationships among the authorized qualifications, reconsidering the fairness of evaluating written examinations, and further consideration of the administration method for an increasing number of examinees need to be tackled.

Improving adherence to hand hygiene practice.

Hand hygiene compliance rates continue to vary between healthcare settings and individual professionals. This article looks at how a multimodal approach to infection prevention and control, using expertise from other disciplines, can increase compliance with hand hygiene practices.

Promoting hand hygiene in clinical practice.

Nurses are well known and respected for championing practices that contribute to high standards of patient care, save lives, and help to influence other disciplines to do the same. Hand hygiene is one such practice. This article discusses the role nurses play in championing hand hygiene and explores how senior managers can support them in this.

Hand hygiene and the use of personal protective equipment.

Infection prevention and control nurses (IPCNs) have an extremely wide remit in relation to the facilitation of appropriate infection prevention and control practice within healthcare environments. In order to be effective IPCNs need to be involved at all stages of healthcare service delivery and need to form close working relationships with staff at all levels and in all departments within their organisation. The provision of the necessary facilities within the clinical environment, along with the ongoing training and support of staff are essential prerequisites to changing the behaviour of staff in order to consistently deliver effective hand hygiene and other infection prevention and control practices. Auditing of practice and the investigation of incidents enable the identification of areas of practice requiring improvement, which subsequently informs the continual development of training programmes and initiatives with a view to improving patient and staff safety. IPCNs need to be able to react swiftly to the emergence of new infectious organisms and/or evidence to identify what is required in order to ensure that staff are compliant with anticipated practice to maintain the safety of the patients in their care, themselves and their colleagues.

How better availability of materials improved hand-hygiene compliance.

Hand hygiene is one of the most effective measures for preventing infections. The annual NHS staff survey in England provides national and local data on how staff feel about working in the NHS. It also provides staff with the opportunity to give their views on the availability of hand-washing materials. The infection prevention and control team at an NHS trust decided a review was required on this issue. This review assessed the availability of hand-washing materials and alcohol handrub on wards and at ward entrances. Three community buildings and 31 wards were reviewed. The audit results showed the availability of hand-washing materials was good in 30 out of 34 areas. Staff on both wards and in the community buildings highlighted what other materials were required for hand hygiene, and steps were made to provide these. The audit allowed hand-hygiene practices to be benchmarked across the trust and increased staff awareness of improving hand hygiene. As a result of this audit, the hand-hygiene compliance score increased from 80% to 95%.

Early-career registered nurses' participation in hospital quality improvement activities.

We surveyed 2 cohorts of early-career registered nurses from 15 states in the US, 2 years apart, to compare their reported participation in hospital quality improvement (QI) activities. We anticipated differences between the 2 cohorts because of the growth of several initiatives for engaging nurses in QI. There were no differences between the 2 cohorts across 14 measured activities, except for their reported use of appropriate strategies to improve hand-washing compliance to reduce nosocomial infection rates.