Hospital organisation, management, and structure for prevention of health-care-associated infection: a systematic review and expert consensus

Lancet Infect Dis. 2015 Feb;15(2):212-24. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(14)70854-0. Epub 2014 Nov 11.

Abstract

Despite control efforts, the burden of health-care-associated infections in Europe is high and leads to around 37,000 deaths each year. We did a systematic review to identify crucial elements for the organisation of effective infection-prevention programmes in hospitals and key components for implementation of monitoring. 92 studies published from 1996 to 2012 were assessed and ten key components identified: organisation of infection control at the hospital level; bed occupancy, staffing, workload, and employment of pool or agency nurses; availability of and ease of access to materials and equipment and optimum ergonomics; appropriate use of guidelines; education and training; auditing; surveillance and feedback; multimodal and multidisciplinary prevention programmes that include behavioural change; engagement of champions; and positive organisational culture. These components comprise manageable and widely applicable ways to reduce health-care-associated infections and improve patients' safety.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review
  • Systematic Review

MeSH terms

  • Cross Infection / epidemiology
  • Cross Infection / prevention & control*
  • Europe / epidemiology
  • Hospitals
  • Humans
  • Infection Control / methods*