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From 20 to 200-plus: Disseminating best practices across the spectrum of care in the Illinois campaign to eliminate clostridium difficile
Methods To build support, IDPH encouraged organizations in the stakeholders group to publically endorse the campaign and assist with outreach. Hospital and LTCF leadership were invited to sign a pledge to commit their facility to participate in the campaign by establishing a multi-disciplinary C. difficile prevention team, attending campaign trainings, and setting facility-specific C. difficile prevention goals. Training was provided via webinars and regional workshops. Workshops included panel discussions with health-care staff and interactive sessions to prioritize prevention activities. Facilities were encouraged to participate as multidisciplinary teams. Pre-/post-campaign surveys assessed facilities' C. difficile prevention activities and perception of the campaign's impact.
Results Twenty-three organizations representing the state Medicare Quality Improvement Organization, health departments, hospitals, LTCFs, and infection prevention groups endorsed the campaign; 120 hospitals and 134 LTCFs signed pledges. Based on survey responses, 61% of hospitals (n=56) and 47% of LTCFs (n=34) established a C. difficile prevention team, and 77% of hospitals (n=77) and 88% of LTCFs (n=42) implemented a prevention activity as a result of the campaign.
Discussion State health departments are well positioned to convene diverse partners to promote infection prevention best practices. The campaign increased C. difficile prevention activities using cross-agency participation, peer-to-peer learning, and multidisciplinary stakeholder engagement.
Learning Areas:
Communication and informaticsImplementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Protection of the public in relation to communicable diseases including prevention or control
Learning Objectives:
Identify the key strategies used in disseminating best practices in the Illinois Campaign to Eliminate Clostridium difficile.
Discuss ways to build effective partnerships for disseminating best practices and the role of the state health department in facilitating Clostridium difficile prevention across the continuum of care.
Keyword(s): Health Communications, Infectious Diseases
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have worked on healthcare associated infections for 2+ years and led the planning and implementation of the Illinois Campaign to Eliminate Clostridium difficile.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.