Surveillance in acute care and nonacute care settings: current issues and concepts

Infection surveillance programs should be designed to meet the needs of a given health care organization. Opportunities to learn how to design epidemiologically sound surveillance programs are not readily available. This report describes the results of small-group discussions held with infection control professionals from various health care settings. Facilitators coached participants through a series of discussions to generate ideas about scientific surveillance for specific patient populations. Key strategies were identified, and suggestions for surveillance studies were given. Before these strategies can be widely recommended, reports of actual application are needed.