Leveraging effective management practices may have a more significant impact on preventing central line-associated bloodstream infections than previously realized, according to a study published in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology.
To determine whether certain practices and themes differentiate hospitals that effectively prevent CLABSIs from hospitals that are less effective, researchers conducted 194 interviews with healthcare administrative leaders, clinical administrators, frontline physicians and nurses.
The researchers found the main difference between high-performing and low-performing hospitals was how the goal of "getting to zero" infections was framed.
Hospitals that effectively prevented CLABSIs framed the goal in explicit terms and found that it was widely embraced and aggressively pursued. Lower-performing hospitals framed the goal as an aspiration and didn't necessarily include infection prevention as an integral strategy.
Highlighted below are five additional management practices that were distinctly present at high-performing hospitals.
- Top-level commitment
- Physician-nurse alignment
- Systematic education
- Meaningful use of data
- Rewards and recognition
According to study authors, employing a management practice bundle that includes the above practices may provide the necessary guidance to physicians, clinical managers and hospital leaders to prevent CLABSIs and other healthcare-associated infections.
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