Advertisement
American Journal of Infection Control
Advanced searchSave search
Major article| Volume 41, ISSUE 4, P322-326, April 2013

Download started.

Ok

Engaging patients in the prevention of health care-associated infections: A survey of patients' awareness, knowledge, and perceptions regarding the risks and consequences of infection with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium difficile

Published:August 13, 2012DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2012.04.334
Engaging patients in the prevention of health care-associated infections: A survey of patients' awareness, knowledge, and perceptions regarding the risks and consequences of infection with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium difficile
Previous ArticleEvaluating infection control: A review of implementation of an infection prevention and control program in a low-income country setting
Next ArticleHand hygiene among patients: Attitudes, perceptions, and willingness to participate

      Background and objective

      Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections and Clostridium difficile infections (CDI) are major health care-associated infections (HAIs). Little is known about patients' knowledge of these HAIs. Therefore, we surveyed patients to determine awareness, knowledge, and perceptions of MRSA infections and CDI.

      Design

      An interviewer-administered questionnaire.

      Setting

      A tertiary care academic medical center.

      Participants

      Adult patients who met at least one of the following criteria: at risk of CDI or MRSA infection, current CDI or colonization or current MRSA infection or colonization, or history of CDI or MRSA infection.

      Methods

      Two unique surveys were developed and administered to 100 patients in 2011.

      Results

      Overall, 76% of patients surveyed were aware of MRSA, whereas 44% were aware of C difficile. The strongest predictor of patients' awareness of these infections was having a history of HAI. Patients with a history of HAI were significantly more likely to have heard of both MRSA (odds ratio, 13.29; 95% confidence interval, 2.84-62.14; P = .001) and C difficile (odds ratio, 9.78; 95% confidence interval, 2.66-35.95; P = .001), than those patients without a history of HAI. There was also a significant positive association between having a history of HAI and greater knowledge of the risk factors, health consequences, and prevention techniques relative to CDI and MRSA infections.

      Conclusions

      There are additional opportunities to engage patients about the risks and consequences of MRSA and CDIs, particularly those without a history of HAI.

      Key Words

      To read this article in full you will need to make a payment

      Purchase one-time access:

      Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online access
      One-time access price info
      • For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
      • For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'

      Subscribe:

      Subscribe to American Journal of Infection Control
      Already a print subscriber? Claim online access
      Already an online subscriber? Sign in
      Register: Create an account
      Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect

      References

        • Klevens R.
        • Edwards J.
        • Richards C.
        • et al.
        Estimating healthcare-associated infections and deaths in U.S. hospitals, 2002.
        Public Health Rep. 2007; 122: 160-166
        View in Article

      2. Scott RD. The direct medical costs of healthcare-associated infections in U.S. hospitals and the benefits of prevention, 2009. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/HAI/pdfs/hai/Scott_CostPaper.pdf. Accessed May 24, 2012.

        View in Article

      3. Chen P. Losing touch with the patient. Available from: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/21/health/views/21chen.html. Accessed May 24, 2012.

        View in Article

      4. Parker-Pope T. Stomach bug crystallizes an antibiotic treatment. Available from: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/14/health/14well.html.

        View in Article

      5. Kristof N. The spread of superbugs. Available from: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/opinion/07kristof.html. Accessed May 24, 2012.

        View in Article
        • Gravel D.
        • Miller M.
        • Simor A.
        • et al.
        Health care-associated clostridium difficile infection in adults admitted to acute care hospitals in Canada: a Canadian Nosocomial Infection Surveillance Program study.
        Clin Infect Dis. 2009; 48: 568-576
        View in Article
        • Klevens R.M.
        • Morrison M.A.
        • Nadle J.
        • et al.
        Invasive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections in the United States.
        JAMA. 2007; 298: 1763-1767
        View in Article
        • McDonald L.C.
        Clostridium difficile: responding to a new threat from an old enemy.
        Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2005; 26: 672-675
        View in Article
        • Lent V.
        • Eckstein E.C.
        • Cameron A.
        • Budavich R.
        • Eckstein B.C.
        • Donskey C.
        Evaluation of patient participation in a patient empowerment initiative to improve hand hygiene practices in a Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
        Am J Infect Control. 2008; 37: 117-120
        View in Article
        • McGuckin M.
        • Taylor A.
        • Martin V.
        • Porten L.
        • Salcido R.
        Evaluation of a patient education model for increasing hand hygiene compliance in an inpatient rehabilitation unit.
        Am J Infect Control. 2004; 32: 235-238
        View in Article
        • McGuckin M.
        • Waterman R.
        • Porten L.
        • et al.
        Patient education model for increasing handwashing compliance.
        Am J Infect Control. 1999; 27: 309-314
        View in Article

      12. The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. FAQs about Clostridium difficile. Available from: http://www.shea-online.org/Assets/files/patient%20guides/NNL_C-Diff.pdf. Accessed May 24, 2012.

        View in Article

      13. FAQs About MRSA. Available from: http://www.shea-online.org/Assets/files/patient%20guides/NNL_MRSA.pdf. Accessed May 24, 2012.

        View in Article

      Article info

      Publication history

      Published online: August 13, 2012

      Footnotes

      Conflicts of interest: None to report.

      Identification

      DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2012.04.334

      Copyright

      © 2013 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

      ScienceDirect

      Access this article on ScienceDirect

      The content on this site is intended for healthcare professionals.


      We use cookies to help provide and enhance our service and tailor content. To update your cookie settings, please visit the Cookie Preference Center for this site.
      Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. except certain content provided by third parties.


      RELX