Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-s2hrs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T00:55:32.420Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The Impact of Isolation on Healthcare Worker Contact and Compliance With Infection Control Practices in Nursing Homes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 April 2018

Lisa Pineles*
Affiliation:
VA Maryland Health Care System, Baltimore, Maryland
Chris Petruccelli
Affiliation:
VA Maryland Health Care System, Baltimore, Maryland
Eli N. Perencevich
Affiliation:
Center for Comprehensive Access and Delivery Research and Evaluation, Iowa City Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Iowa City, Iowa
Mary-Claire Roghmann
Affiliation:
VA Maryland Health Care System, Baltimore, Maryland
Kalpana Gupta
Affiliation:
VA Boston Health Care System, Boston, Massachusetts
Jose Cadena
Affiliation:
South Texas Veterans Health Care System, San Antonio, Texas
Gio Baracco
Affiliation:
Miami Veterans Affairs Healthcare System, Miami, Florida
Christopher D. Pfeiffer
Affiliation:
Veterans Affairs Portland Healthcare System, Portland, Oregon Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon
Graeme Forrest
Affiliation:
Veterans Affairs Portland Healthcare System, Portland, Oregon Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon
Suzanne F. Bradley
Affiliation:
Infectious Diseases Section, Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Chris Crnich
Affiliation:
Infectious Diseases Section, William S. Middleton VA, Madison, Wisconsin
Heather Reisinger
Affiliation:
Center for Comprehensive Access and Delivery Research and Evaluation, Iowa City Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Iowa City, Iowa
Daniel J. Morgan
Affiliation:
VA Maryland Health Care System, Baltimore, Maryland
*
Address correspondence to Lisa Pineles, MA, 10 S Pine St, MSTF 360B, Baltimore, MD 21201 (lpineles@som.umaryland.edu).

Abstract

OBJECTIVE

To directly observe healthcare workers in a nursing home setting to measure frequency and duration of resident contact and infection prevention behavior as a factor of isolation practice

DESIGN

Observational study

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

Healthcare workers in 8 VA nursing homes in Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Washington, and Texas

METHODS

Over a 15-month period, trained research staff without clinical responsibilities on the units observed nursing home resident room activity for 15–30-minute intervals. Observers recorded time of entry and exit, isolation status, visitor type (staff, visitor, etc), hand hygiene, use of gloves and gowns, and activities performed in the room when visible.

RESULTS

A total of 999 hours of observation were conducted across 8 VA nursing homes during which 4,325 visits were observed. Residents in isolation received an average of 4.73 visits per hour of observation compared with 4.21 for nonisolation residents (P<.01), a 12.4% increase in visits for residents in isolation. Residents in isolation received an average of 3.53 resident care activities per hour of observation, compared with 2.46 for residents not in isolation (P<.01). For residents in isolation, compliance was 34% for gowns and 58% for gloves. Healthcare worker hand hygiene compliance was 45% versus 44% (P=.79) on entry and 66% versus 55% (P<.01) on exit for isolation and nonisolation rooms, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Healthcare workers visited residents in isolation more frequently, likely because they required greater assistance. Compliance with gowns and gloves for isolation was limited in the nursing home setting. Adherence to hand hygiene also was less than optimal, regardless of isolation status of residents.

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2018;39:683–687

Type
Original Articles
Copyright
© 2018 by The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. All rights reserved 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1. Montoya, A, Mody, L. Common infections in nursing homes: a review of current issues and challenges. Aging Health 2011;7:889899.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
2. Strausbaugh, LJ, Joseph, CL. The burden of infection in long-term care. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2000;21:674679.Google Scholar
3. Cassone, M, Mody, L. Colonization with multi-drug resistant organisms in nursing homes: scope, importance, and management. Curr Geriatr Rep 2015;4:8795.Google Scholar
4. Dantes, R, Mu, Y, Belflower, R, et al. National burden of invasive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections, United States, 2011. JAMA Intern Med 2013;173:19701978.Google Scholar
5. Herzig, CTA, Dick, AW, Sorbero, M, et al. Infection trends in US nursing homes, 2006–2013. J Am Med Dir Assoc 2017;18:635.e9635.e20.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6. Evans, ME, Kralovic, SM, Simbartl, LA, et al. Nationwide reduction of health care-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections in Veterans Affairs long-term care facilities. Am J Infect Control 2014;42:6062.Google Scholar
7. Stone, ND, Lewis, DR, Johnson, TM 2nd, et al. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) nasal carriage in residents of Veterans Affairs long-term care facilities: role of antimicrobial exposure and MRSA acquisition. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2012;33:551557.Google Scholar
8. Siegel, JD, Rhinehart, E, Jackson, M, Chiarello, L, Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee. Management of multidrug-resistant organisms in healthcare settings. Am J Infect Control 2007;35(10 Suppl 2):S165S193.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
9. Morgan, DJ, Diekema, DJ, Sepkowitz, K, Perencevich, EN. Adverse outcomes associated with contact precautions: a review of the literature. Am J Infect Control 2009;37:8593.Google Scholar
10. Morgan, DJ, Wenzel, RP, Bearman, G. Contact precautions for endemic MRSA and VRE: time to retire legal mandates. JAMA 2017;318:329330.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11. Furuno, JP, Krein, S, Lansing, B, Mody, L. Health care worker opinions on use of isolation precautions in long-term care facilities. Am J Infect Control 2012;40:263266.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
12. Cohen, CC, Dick, A, Stone, PW. Isolation precautions use for multidrug-resistant organism infection in nursing homes. J Am Geriatr Soc 2017;65:483489.Google Scholar
13. Dumyati, G, Stone, ND, Nace, DA, Crnich, CJ, Jump, RL. Challenges and strategies for prevention of multidrug-resistant organism transmission in nursing homes. Curr Infect Dis Rep 2017;19 18-017-0576-7.Google Scholar
14. Tsan, L, Langberg, R, Davis, C, et al. Nursing home-associated infections in Department of Veterans Affairs community living centers. Am J Infect Control 2010;38:461466.Google Scholar
15. Department of Veterans Affairs. Revised guideline for implementation of the VHA MRSA prevention initiative in community living centers. Unpublished internal document, 2013.Google Scholar
16. Ye, Z, Mukamel, DB, Huang, SS, Li, Y, Temkin-Greener, H. Healthcare-associated pathogens and nursing home policies and practices: results from a national survey. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2015;36:759766.Google Scholar
17. Chang, NC, Reisinger, HS, Jesson, AR, et al. Feasibility of monitoring compliance to the My 5 Moments and Entry/Exit hand hygiene methods in US hospitals. Am J Infect Control 2016;44:938940.Google Scholar
18. Harris, AD, Pineles, L, Belton, B, et al. Universal glove and gown use and acquisition of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the ICU: a randomized trial. JAMA 2013;310:15711580.Google ScholarPubMed
19. Morgan, DJ, Pineles, L, Shardell, M, et al. The effect of contact precautions on healthcare worker activity in acute care hospitals. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2013;34:6973.Google Scholar
20. Dhar, S, Marchaim, D, Tansek, R, et al. Contact precautions: more is not necessarily better. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2014;35:213221.Google Scholar
21. Anderson, DJ, Weber, DJ, Sickbert-Bennett, E. On contact precautions: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2014;35:222224.Google Scholar
22. Schweon, SJ, Edmonds, SL, Kirk, J, Rowland, DY, Acosta, C. Effectiveness of a comprehensive hand hygiene program for reduction of infection rates in a long-term care facility. Am J Infect Control 2013;41:3944.Google Scholar
23. Thompson, BL, Dwyer, DM, Ussery, XT, Denman, S, Vacek, P, Schwartz, B. Handwashing and glove use in a long-term-care facility. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 1997;18:97103.Google Scholar
24. Mody, L. Infection control issues in older adults. Clin Geriatr Med 2007;23:499514, vi.Google Scholar
25. Almaguer-Leyva, M, Mendoza-Flores, L, Medina-Torres, AG, et al. Hand hygiene compliance in patients under contact precautions and in the general hospital population. Am J Infect Control 2013;41:976978.Google Scholar
26. Department of Veterans Affairs. Guidelines for standard and transmission-based precautions (formerly isolation). Unpublished internal document, 2016.Google Scholar