The second edition of this successful resource is the ultimate guide to collecting data for infection control. This book comprises a series of short "how-to" scenarios and real-life examples, which take readers through the process of collecting, analyzing, and acting upon infection control data to meet the Joint Commission's IC requirements. the second edition also includes new National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance System benchmarks.

Presents best practices for infection prevention and control in advanced practice Emphasizes team approach for infection control Case study provided for each chapter This professional reference combines research on the best practices for infection control in clinical settings with essential information for advanced practice nurses and physician assistants. The book is organized by healthcare settings, and the coverage ranges from small practice offices to large hospitals and medical institutions. Each chapter is prefaced by a case study which is then incorporated into the theoretical material of the chapter as a continuing illustration. This format provides a reader-friendly instructional resource for advanced practice certifications and staff development. From the Foreword "At last is published a long-needed text for advanced practice nurses (APNs), providing them with the information essential to the care of essentially every patient they will encounter. Infection Control for Advanced Practice Professionals fills a void in the literature and recognizes the importance of a team approach to the prevention of infections in the variety of care settings in which APNs are practicing. The book is particularly timely and relevant because it appropriately places infection prevention solidly within the larger patient safety movement and affirms that preventing infections is everybody's concern. In acute care settings, for example, infection control has occasionally been relegated to the infection prevention specialist (e.g., infection control nurse or hospital epidemiologist) or the infection control committee. This has shown to be ineffective in any setting. It is those who "touch" the patients and oversee their care who must assume the responsibility for preventing untoward events such as infections. While not all infections are preventable, there is indeed room for improvement. This comprehensive reference is a first and essential step in that direction!" Elaine Larson, PhD, RN, FAAN, CIC Anna C. Maxwell Professor of Nursing Research Associate Dean for Research School of Nursing Professor of Epidemiology Joseph Mailman School of Public Health Columbia University Editor, American Journal of Infection Control TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword Preface List of Contributors 1. Principles of Infection Control Joan Hebden 1.1. Case Presentation 1.2. Essential Content for Infection Control Skills 1.3. Creating and Sustaining a Culture of Safety 1.4. The Measurement of Performance 1.5. Team-led Performance Initiatives 1.6. Monitoring and Feedback 1.7. Creating an Action Plan for Performance Improvement 1.8. Making a Business Case for HAI Prevention 1.9. Interpretation/Application of Infection Control Data 1.10. Patient Safety and Health System Issues 1.11. Summary Points 1.12. References 2. Safe Infection Control in the Workplace Carol Patton and Denise M. Korniewicz 2.1. Case Presentation 2.2. Essential Content for Safe Infection Control in the Workplace 2.3. Employer Standards for Bloodborne Pathogen Precautions 2.4. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) 2.5. Sharps Injuries 2.6. Designing Programs of Healthcare Worker Safety 2.7. Surveillance and Behavioral-based Performance of Healthcare Workers 2.8. Creating a Culture of Safe Infection Control Practices 2.9. References 3. Patient Safety and the Chain of Infection Joan Hebden 3.1. Case Presentation 3.2. Essential Content for Infection Control Skills 3.3. Interpretation/Application of Infection Control Data 3.4. Patient Safety and Health System: Infection Control Practices 3.5. Summary Points 3.6. References 4. Essentials of Epidemiologic Measures and Data Interpretation Maher M. El-Masri and Davy Tawadrous 4.1. Case Presentation 4.2. Measures of Disease Frequency 4.3. Measures of Disease-exposure Association 4.4. Statistical Probability (P. Value) 4.5. Clinical Versus Statistical Significance 4.6. Summary Points 4.7. References 5. Infection Control in Acute Care Settings Jeanne Hinton Siegel 5.1. Case Presentation 5.2. Essential Content for Infection Control 5.3. Hand Hygiene 5.4. Engineering Controls 5.5. New Monitoring Techniques 5.6. Use of Isolation to Prevent the Spread of Infections 5.7. Review of Healthcare Environments 5.8. Advanced Practice Professionals' Roles in Public Health 5.9. References 6. Infection Control in Critical Care Settings Mary Wyckoff 6.1. Case Presentation 6.2. Essential Content for Infection Control 6.3. Hospital Acquired Infections in Critical 6.4. Attributable Cost of Hospital Acquired Infections 6.5. How to Effectively Process Change 6.6. Conclusion and Summary Points 6.7. References 7. Infection Control in the Emergency Department Settings Michelle Wright 7.1. Case Presentation 7.2. Essential Content for Infection Control Skills 7.3. Precautions 7.4. Unknown Illness 7.5. Biochemical Agents 7.6. Trauma 7.7. Travel 7.8. Equipment Sharing 7.9. Patient Mobility 7.10. Overcrowding 7.11. Empirical Antibiotic Therapy 7.12. Novel Approaches 7.13. Summary Points 7.14. References 8. Infection Control in Primary Care Settings Carol Patton and Denise M. Korniewicz 8.1. Case Presentation 8.2. Essential Content for Infection Control Skills 8.3. Creating the Culture of Infection Control in Primary Care Settings 8.4. Strategies for Best Practices for Infection Control in Primary Care Settings 8.5. Summary Points 8.6. References 9. Infection Control Principles for Long-term Care Environments Judith Seltzer and Denise M. Korniewicz 9.1. Case Presentation 9.2. Essential Content for Infection Control Skills 9.3. General Environmental Issues (Wheelchairs, Hand Rails, Walkers, Cleaning Rooms) 9.4. Regulatory Measures 9.5. Summary Points 9.6. References 10. Infection Control in the Home Jeanette Adams 10.1. Case Presentation 10.2. Essential Content for Infection Control Skills 10.3. Health Care Providers 10.4. Multidrug-Resistant Organisms 10.5. Interpretation/Application of Infection Control Data 10.6. Discussion about Patient Safety and Health System Issues Related to ICP 10.7. Summary Points 10.8. References 11. Infection Control Practice in Mental Health Settings James Weidel 11.1. Case Presentation 11.2. Environment of Care of the Psychiatric/Mental Health Facility 11.3. Limited Access to Supplies 11.4. Linen and Clothing 11.5. Provider-Patient Interaction 11.6. Food Safety 11.7. Patient Handling of Food 11.8. Sanitation and Housekeeping 11.9. Risk Factors Associated with Infection Among Psychiatric Patients 11.10. Isolation 11.11. Transmission Based Precautions 11.12. Restraints and Infection Control 11.13. Conclusion 11.14. Summary Points 11.15. References 12. Infection Control in Ambulatory Surgical Centers Judith Seltzer 12.1. Case Presentation 12.2. Essential Content for Infection Control in Ambulatory Surgical Settings 12.3. Regulatory Influences 12.4. Infection Control Monitoring 12.5. Active Participation 12.6. Long-term Infection Control Principles in Ambulatory Surgical Settings 12.7. Summary Points 12.8. References 13. Infection Control in the Community Jeanette Adams 13.1. Case Presentation 13.2. Essential Content for Infection Control Skills 13.3. Food Borne Infections 13.4. Prevention of Infectious Diseases 13.5. Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) 13.6. Clostridium Difficile (C-diff.) 13.7. Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) 211 13.8. Interpretation/Application of Infection Control Data 13.9. Discussion about Patient Safety and Health System Issues Related To ICP 13.10. Summary Points 13.11. References 14. Infection Control for Emergency Mobile Health Units Michelle Wright 14.1. Case Presentation 14.2. Essential Content for Infection Control Skills 14.3. Vector Borne Illnesses 14.4. Overcrowding 14.5. Personnel Safety 14.6. Medically Trained Volunteers 14.7. Untrained Volunteers 14.8. Interpretation/Application of Infection Control Data 14.9. Patient Safety and Health System Issues 14.10. Summary Points 14.11. References 15. Future Issues in Monitoring for Safe Infection Control Practices Denise M. Korniewicz 15.1. Case Presentation 15.2. Essential Content Infection Control of the Future 15.3. Future Engineering Controls 15.4. Safety Through Knowledge 15.5. Future Patient Participation, Public Awareness and Patient Advocacy 15.6. Summary Points 15.7. References Index

"Nurses play a vital role in improving the safety and quality of patient car -- not only in the hospital or ambulatory treatment facility, but also of community-based care and the care performed by family members. Nurses need know what proven techniques and interventions they can use to enhance patient outcomes. To address this need, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), with additional funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has prepared this comprehensive, 1,400-page, handbook for nurses on patient safety and quality -- Patient Safety and Quality: An Evidence-Based Handbook for Nurses. (AHRQ Publication No. 08-0043)." - online AHRQ blurb, http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nurseshdbk/

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), health-care-associated infections (HAI) -- infections that patients acquire while receiving treatment for other conditions -- are estimated to be 1 of the top 10 causes of death in the nation. This statement summarizes a report by the same title released on this date, which examined: (1) CDC¿s guidelines for hospitals to reduce or prevent HAI's and what HHS does to promote their implementation; (2) Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services¿ (CMS) and hospital accrediting organizations¿ required standards for hospitals to reduce or prevent HAI's; and (3) HHS programs that collect data related to HAI's and integration of the data across HHS. Includes recommendations. Charts and tables.

This guideline defines ventilation and then natural ventilation. It explores the design requirements for natural ventilation in the context of infection control, describing the basic principles of design, construction, operation and maintenance for an effective natural ventilation system to control infection in health-care settings.

The WHO Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Health Care provide health-care workers (HCWs), hospital administrators and health authorities with a thorough review of evidence on hand hygiene in health care and specific recommendations to improve practices and reduce transmission of pathogenic microorganisms to patients and HCWs. The present Guidelines are intended to be implemented in any situation in which health care is delivered either to a patient or to a specific group in a population. Therefore, this concept applies to all settings where health care is permanently or occasionally performed, such as home care by birth attendants. Definitions of health-care settings are proposed in Appendix 1. These Guidelines and the associated WHO Multimodal Hand Hygiene Improvement Strategy and an Implementation Toolkit (http://www.who.int/gpsc/en/) are designed to offer health-care facilities in Member States a conceptual framework and practical tools for the application of recommendations in practice at the bedside. While ensuring consistency with the Guidelines recommendations, individual adaptation according to local regulations, settings, needs, and resources is desirable. This extensive review includes in one document sufficient technical information to support training materials and help plan implementation strategies. The document comprises six parts.