ABSTRACT
Background: The Community of Practice (CoP) group, comprising members from Trillium Health Partners (THP), Halton Healthcare (HH) and William Osler Health System (WOHS) executed an education needs assessment survey.
Christopher De Vries, BSc, CIC1*, Dina Badawy, PhD, CIC1, Murtuza Diwan, BSc, DLSHTM, MSc, CIC2, Marina Chung, RPN, CIC3, Kristianne Angeles, RN3, Shamleed Bashiruddin, BSc, MLT1, Stefania Cloutier, BES, BASc, CIPHI(C), CIC2, Samar Tahhan, RN, MSc, BScN, CIC1, Jackie Nugent, RN, BScN, CIC1, and Lorne N. Small, BSc, MSc, MD1
1 Department of Infection Prevention and Control, Trillium Health Partners, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
2 Department of Infection Prevention and Control, Halton Healthcare, Oakville, Ontario, Canada
3 Department of Infection Prevention and Control, William Osler Health System, Brampton, Ontario, Canada
*Corresponding author:
Christopher De Vries
Infection Control Professional
Infection Prevention and Control Department
Trillium Health Partners, Credit Valley Hospital
2200 Eglinton Ave W,
Mississauga, ON, L5M 2N1
Email: christopher.devries@thp.ca
ABSTRACT
Background: The Community of Practice (CoP) group, comprising members from Trillium Health Partners (THP), Halton Healthcare (HH) and William Osler Health System (WOHS) executed an education needs assessment survey. The objective of this survey was to evaluate the knowledge and understanding of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) best practices amongst frontline staff across three organizations.
Methods: A quantitative, cross-sectional survey consisting of 10 questions was developed and distributed across the three organizations. Responses were independently reviewed by each site, and data from all sites were aggregated. The combined data were subsequently examined, charted and graphed in Microsoft Excel. The results were displayed both by hospital site and in a combined format.
Results: A total of 514 frontline staff completed the survey across all sites. While 86% of respondents were familiar with the term CPE, only 30% felt confident in explaining what CPE is. Furthermore, only 67% of respondents identified the appropriate isolation measures for CPE-positive patients, and 61% recognized the appropriate measures for CPE-exposed patients. Additionally, 57% were unable to identify the correct disposal process for liquid waste. Although 81% of respondents understood the severity of CPE infections, only 57% agreed that CPE-positive patients require ongoing additional precautions. Finally, only 25% could correctly identify when to collect CPE screening swabs for newly admitted patients per hospital policy.
Conclusions: The survey responses revealed consistent gaps in CPE knowledge and education across all three organizations. Although respondents demonstrated some understanding of CPE infections, including the ability to identify the organism and recognize its potential negative patient outcomes, significant knowledge deficiencies were evident. Across all sites, there was low confidence in managing CPE-positive patients and implementing appropriate additional precautions. Moreover, respondents exhibited a lack of comprehension regarding organizational policies and practices related to hand hygiene sink usage, liquid waste disposal, and screening of new admissions. These findings highlight the need for targeted educational interventions to address these deficiencies and enhance CPE management practices across the organizations.
KEYWORDS
Education, carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales, integration, survey, community of practice