Contacts between health care workers and patients in a short-stay geriatric unit during the peak of a seasonal influenza epidemic compared with a nonepidemic period

Oussaid, Nadia; Voirin, Nicolas; Régis, Corinne; Khanafer, Nagham; Martin-Gaujard, Géraldine; Vincent, Adélaïde; Comte, B; Bénet, Thomas; Vanhems, Philippe

doi:10.1016/j.ajic.2016.02.002

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Contacts for other HCWs have been studied in specific units (e.g. general wards, emergency departments) within the healthcare setting, often using proximity-sensing technologies which focus on paired HCWepatient and HCWeHCW contacts [12,13]. These studies found that nurses had more patient contacts than other HCWs.…”

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confidence: 99%

Infectious disease transmission: survey of contacts between hospital-based healthcare workers and working adults from the general population

Jiang¹,

Ng²,

Hou³

et al. 2018

Journal of Hospital Infection

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confidence: 99%

Infectious disease transmission: survey of contacts between hospital-based healthcare workers and working adults from the general population

Jiang¹,

Ng²,

Hou³

et al. 2018

Journal of Hospital Infection

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“…HCW behaviours have been investigated using surveys (English et al, 2018), observations (Weigl et al, 2009; Westbrook et al, 2011) and tracking technologies (Butler et al, 2018; Hertzberg et al, 2017; Oussaid et al, 2016; Vanhems et al, 2013), but these data collection methods are often prohibitively time intensive, expensive, or only provide a snapshot view that is not hospital wide. Electronic medical records (EMRs) have also been previously used to investigate HCW space use and patient contacts (Curtis et al, 2013; Illingworth et al, 2022), but they are either optimised for reconstructing patient trajectories or suffer from high spatial uncertainty.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using routinely collected hospital data to investigate healthcare worker mobility and patient contacts within a UK hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic

Wilson‐Aggarwal

Gotts

Wong

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Movement and contacts are central to the transmission of infectious diseases and, within the hospital setting, healthcare worker (HCW) mobility and their contact with patients play an important role in the spread of nosocomial disease. Yet data relating to HCW behaviours associated with mobility and contacts in the healthcare environment are often limited. This paper proposes a framework for integrating several electronic data sources routinely-collected by modern hospitals, to enable the measurement of HCW behaviours relevant to the transmission of infections. Using data from a London teaching hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic, we demonstrate how, at an aggregate level, electronic medical records (EMRs) and door access logs can be used to establish changes in HCW mobility and patient contacts. In addition, to show the utility of these data sources in supporting infection prevention and control (IPC), we investigate changes in the indirect connectivity of patients (resulting from shared contacts with HCWs) and spatial connectivity of floors (owing to the movements of HCWs). Average daily rates of patient contacts are computed and found to be higher throughout the pandemic compared to that pre-pandemic, while the average daily rates of HCW mobility remained stable until the second wave, where they surpassed pre-pandemic levels. The response of HCW behaviour to the pandemic was not equal between floors, whereby the highest increases in patient contacts and mobility were on floors handling the majority of COVID-19 patients. The first wave of COVID-19 patients resulted in changes to the flow of HCWs between floors, but the interconnectivity between COVID-19 and non COVID-19 wards was evident throughout the pandemic. Daily rates of indirect contact between patients provided evidence for reactive staff cohorting, whereby indirect contact rates between COVID-19 positive and negative patients were lowest during peaks in COVID-19 hospital admissions. We propose that IPC practitioners use these routinely collected data on HCW behaviour to support infection control activities and to help better protect hospital staff and patients from nosocomial outbreaks of communicable diseases.

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“…HCW behaviours have been investigated using surveys 18 , observations 19,20 and tracking technologies [21][22][23][24] , but these data collection methods are often prohibitively time intensive, expensive, or only provide a snapshot view that is not hospital wide. Electronic medical records (EMRs) have also been previously used to investigate HCW space use and patient contacts [25][26][27] , but they are either optimised for reconstructing patient trajectories or suffer from high spatial uncertainty.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating healthcare worker mobility and patient contacts within a UK hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic

et al. 2022

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Background Insights into behaviours relevant to the transmission of infections are extremely valuable for epidemiological investigations. Healthcare worker (HCW) mobility and patient contacts within the hospital can contribute to nosocomial outbreaks, yet data on these behaviours are often limited. Methods Using electronic medical records and door access logs from a London teaching hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic, we derive indicators for HCW mobility and patient contacts at an aggregate level. We assess the spatial-temporal variations in HCW behaviour and, to demonstrate the utility of these behavioural markers, investigate changes in the indirect connectivity of patients (resulting from shared contacts with HCWs) and spatial connectivity of floors (owing to the movements of HCWs). Results Fluctuations in HCW mobility and patient contacts were identified during the pandemic, with the most prominent changes in behaviour on floors handling the majority of COVID-19 patients. The connectivity between floors was disrupted by the pandemic and, while this stabilised after the first wave, the interconnectivity of COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 wards always featured. Daily rates of indirect contact between patients provided evidence for reactive staff cohorting in response to the number of COVID-19 patients in the hospital. Conclusions Routinely collected electronic records in the healthcare environment provide a means to rapidly assess and investigate behaviour change in the HCW population, and can support evidence based infection prevention and control activities. Integrating frameworks like ours into routine practice will empower decision makers and improve pandemic preparedness by providing tools to help curtail nosocomial outbreaks of communicable diseases.

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Contacts between health care workers and patients in a short-stay geriatric unit during the peak of a seasonal influenza epidemic compared with a nonepidemic period

Cited by 5 publications

References 14 publications

Infectious disease transmission: survey of contacts between hospital-based healthcare workers and working adults from the general population

Infectious disease transmission: survey of contacts between hospital-based healthcare workers and working adults from the general population

Using routinely collected hospital data to investigate healthcare worker mobility and patient contacts within a UK hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic

Investigating healthcare worker mobility and patient contacts within a UK hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic

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