Patient Involvement in Healthcare-Associated Infection Research: A Lexical Review

Abstract

OBJECTIVEThis review examines patient involvement in healthcare-associated infection (HAI) research. Healthcare-associated infections represent an intractable issue with considerable implications for patients and staff. Participatory methodologies that involve patients in healthcare research are associated with myriad benefits.DESIGNLexical review.METHODSPubMed was searched to identify all publications on patient involvement in HAI research since 2000; publications were also identified from the cited references. A lexical analysis was conducted of the methods sections of 148 publications.RESULTSThe findings reveal that HAI research that actively involves patients and members of the public is limited.CONCLUSIONSPatient involvement is largely limited to recruitment to HAI studies rather than extended to patient involvement in research design, implementation, analysis, and/or dissemination. As such, there is considerable opportunity to further this important research area via alternative methodologies that award primacy to patient expertise and agency.Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2018;39:710-717.

Patient involvement in the implementation of infection prevention and control guidelines and associated interventions: a scoping review

“…Fourteen papers from the international literature search were reviewed (table 3), six5 6 9–11 of which were literature reviews (eg, systematic, lexical and integrative), six studies7 19 21–26 28 that used qualitative approaches (eg, individual interviews and focus groups), one quasi-experimental study20 and an expert panel report 18…”

“…Transmission of HCAI through the contamination of patients’ hands, for example, is as important as contamination of HCP’s hands 11. However, the majority of studies have been focused only on strategies to encourage patients to ask HCPs about their compliance with standard precautions,5–7 9 11 18 20 21 undermining the development of a patient’s own accountability for IPC. Only three studies were identified that reported strategies to encourage patients to monitor themselves in IPC22 26 28; for example, with patient-to-patient education.…”

“…Passive strategies, such as written information and audiovisual teaching, were described as potential tools to minimise risk of infection and promote patient engagement with IPC 27. In these strategies, patients and relatives were provided with information on IPC recommendations, such as hand hygiene and other standard precautions 5–7 11 18–20 31. Although important, these initiatives are criticised9 as they tend to limit patient involvement to adhering to what they are told to do rather than promoting patients as real partners for IPC.…”

“…We used a bidirectional citation chasing or pearl growing approach to generate a full list of references pertaining to patient engagement with IPC guideline implementation (figure 1). The pearls in this instance were the two papers sourced in the database search18 19 and through the citation chasing process, nine new papers were identified 5–7 9–11 20–22…”

“…Many authors stress the need to increase patient involvement in IPC implementation in healthcare settings and when developing new guidelines and initiatives 4–7. It is believed that this will ensure a more patient-centred service that prioritises their needs8 and increases patient safety by empowering them to take control of their own IPC and increases compliance of HCPs with guidelines 9 10…”