BACKGROUND: Approximately 700,000 health care-associated infections (HAIs) occur annually in the United States. During 2011, North Carolina implemented HAI surveillance in all acute-care hospitals using the National Healthcare Safety Network. We conducted an analysis to evaluate how providers use HAI surveillance reports published quarterly by the North Carolina Division of Public Health and identify areas for improvement.
METHODS: In 2015, we conducted structured interviews with a convenience sample of 14 stakeholders. Stakeholders were identified by state subject matter experts and included six infection preventionists (IPs), four hospital epidemiologists, and four professional group representatives. Based on information from interviews, we developed and distributed an anonymous, online survey through a professional listserv that included IPs from all 108 reporting hospitals.
RESULTS: Nine of 14 (64%) stakeholders interviewed used quarterly HAI reports to inform hospital administration regarding HAIs and guide prevention efforts. However, 8/14 (57%) stakeholders stated that utility was limited by the reports’ complexity or data quality concerns. Among 61 IPs responding to the survey, 34 (56%) used HAI reports to inform hospital administration or advisory groups; 17 (28%) to educate staff; 11 (18%) to guide and advocate for in-hospital HAI prevention efforts; and 3 (5%) to share information with the public. Eight of 61 respondents did not use HAI reports; reasons included concerns about accuracy of HAI reporting and challenges in interpreting information.
CONCLUSIONS: Health care providers use HAI surveillance reports to communicate internally with hospital administration and staff, but rarely with patients. Efforts to improve data quality, including ongoing validation, and simplified report format are needed to address concerns about data quality, improve report utility, and support HAI prevention in North Carolina.