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Early Detection of Serious Healthcare-Associated Infections: Experiences of Intensive and Surgical Health Care
Background:
Serious healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are adverse events where early detection is important to mitigate negative consequences for patients.
Objectives:
To explore the experiences of health care professionals in surgical and intensive care regarding serious HAIs and factors facilitating or hindering early detection.
Methods:
Qualitative study with a descriptive design. Thirty-four assistant nurses, registered nurses, and physicians in surgical wards or intensive care units in 4 hospitals were recruited through purposive sampling, and interviewed in 10 focus groups. Data were analyzed according to Krueger and Casey.
Results:
The analyses revealed the overarching theme a puzzle to solve, describing the complexity of factors that need to fall into place to achieve early detection. The puzzle is described with 4 categories, different perspectives on serious HAIs, considering the risk of infection, connecting the pieces, and detecting the deteriorating patient.
Conclusion:
Early detection of serious HAIs is multifactorial, depending on the patient's condition, standards, and routines in clinical practice, but also related to an organizational level. The next step should be to develop and test a decision support system with the intention to detect signs and symptoms at an early stage in the clinical context.
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