Key Objectives:
Discuss the process and resources required to incorporate the recommendations from the HAI Data Analysis and Presentation Standardization (DAPS) Toolkit to develop a state HAI report.
Brief Summary:
The Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) is required by law to publish a report on HAI twice a year. TDH has been publishing this report since 2009, and historically these reports have been detailed and comprehensive; most appropriate for a technical audience. In order to reach a broader audience with these reports, TDH, with the support of Tennessee’s multidisciplinary advisory group (MDAG) on HAI, used the recommendations from the DAPS toolkit to develop a state report for healthcare consumers. The consumer report presented facility-specific data on 5 types of HAIs and healthcare worker influenza vaccination. TDH adapted the text from the consumer report template provided in the DAPS toolkit to meet Tennessee’s specific needs. The provided text includes an introduction, methods, and guides to understanding the data tables shown in the report, all written at an appropriate level for healthcare consumers. Slight modifications were made to the data tables from the template and the provided SAS code was adapted to create the tables and produce output as a Microsoft Word document. This output was easy to incorporate into the full report. By adapting the toolkit materials and not creating the report content from scratch, TDH saved a significant amount of time and resources. Since publishing this report in October 2015, TDH has received positive feedback on the format and content. In particular, the resources for healthcare consumers to understand and use HAI data were especially well received. TDH has also received feedback from stakeholders that the simple, straightforward presentation of data improves communication of HAI data not only to consumers, but also to healthcare professionals and hospital leadership. Overall, TDH found the resources from the DAPS toolkit very helpful and a great timesaver for developing an HAI report appropriate for a consumer audience.