Closing the gap on infection prevention staffing recommendations: Results from the beta version of the APIC staffing calculator (10 October 2024)

Summary

Published literature suggests “one-size-fits-all" infection prevention and control (IPC) staffing recommendations do not sufficiently account for programme complexity needs. This project's objective was to create and validate a calculator utilising risk and complexity factors to generate individualised IPC staffing ratios.

Content

Highlights

• A significant association exists between higher standard infection ratio ranges and staffing status for certain health care-associated infection types.
• Almost 80% of hospitals participating in the study were identified as having lower than expected staffing levels.
• More than 85% of respondents who believed their staffing levels were inadequate came from hospitals found to have lower than expected IP staffing by the calculator.

This novel approach allows facilities to staff their IPC programme based on individual factors. Future versions of the calculator will be optimised based on the findings. Future research will clarify the impact of staffing on patient outcomes and staff retention.