A study, published in American Journal of Infection Control, examined current infection preventionist staffing levels as well as infection prevention and control department resources in U.S. acute care hospitals.
Researchers studied data from the 2015 MegaSurvey conducted by the Association of Professionals in Infection Prevention and Epidemiology. It included data from 1,623 survey respondents.
Here are five findings:
1. Seventy-two percent of respondents had single-site responsibilities.
2. Sixty-eight percent dedicated 76 percent to 100 percent of their job to infection prevention and control.
3. The overall median infection preventionist staffing was 1.25 infection preventionists per 100 inpatient census.
4. Approximately 46 percent of respondents represented facilities with daily inpatient census less than or equal to 100, and the average number of infection preventionists in those facilities was 1.1.
5. The reported number of infection preventionists increased consistently with higher patient census.