Infection control professionals and hospital epidemiologists, using the valid methods
of applied epidemiology–surveillance, benchmarking, intervention, evaluation–have
largely been responsible for dramatically reducing the incidence of health care-associated
infections over the past several decades. However, we believe that the field of infection
control can–and should–also be a leader in understanding how research findings can
be efficiently and effectively translated into clinical practice. Unfortunately, there
is no current reliable information about which preventive practices are being used
in US hospitals to prevent common device-related infections. If we are to understand
how best to translate research into practice, the reasons hospitals are using some
preventive practices–or are not–must be explored more fully. This article provides
a framework for one proposed research endeavor to promote the successful translation
of proven infection prevention practices and a subsequent decrease in health care-associated
infections. In addition, we hope that this article will stimulate increased interest
and research in identifying strategies that will successfully move evidence from the
peer-reviewed literature to the patient's bedside.
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: November 18, 2005
Ann Arbor, MichiganFootnotes
Supported by grant funding from the Department of Veterans Affairs, Health Services Research and Development Service (SAF 04-031); by a Career Development Award from the Health Services Research and Development Service of the Department of Veterans Affairs (to S.S.); and by a Patient Safety Developmental Center Grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (P20-HS11540, to T.P.H. and S.S.).
Identification
Copyright
© 2006 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
