Development and Distribution of Educational Materials for Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae Among Acute and...

Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) are multidrug-resistant organisms emerging in the United States. The Wisconsin Division of Public Health implemented mandatory hospital-based CRE surveillance starting in December 2011 and assessed educational needs of health care personnel to guide education for statewide CRE prevention.

Pre- and post-intervention electronic surveys were distributed to infection control practitioners and local health departments to determine success of educational intervention. Pre-intervention telephone interviews were conducted with infection control practitioners who reported at least 1 case of CRE.

The pre-intervention survey indicated that 20 (34%) responding infection control practitioners distributed educational materials to patients or staff and 13 (57%) responding local health departments had some CRE knowledge. A pre-intervention survey and interviews identified the need for educational materials such as fact sheets, brochures, and toolkits. Five months after materials were produced and distributed, 31 (63%) responding infection control practitioners had shared educational materials with patients or staff and 11 (100%) responding local health departments indicated some CRE knowledge.

Overall, use of CRE educational material increased and improved general CRE knowledge among health care personnel following development and distribution of educational materials. Small sample size prevents determination of statistical significance between pre- and post-intervention responses.