Study: Staff nurses offer insights on C-difficile infections

To improve its C-difficile infection rates, hospitals should survey front-line staff to determine whether guidelines and improvement strategies are effectively translated into practice, a study found. Published Aug. 12 in the Journal of Infection Control, the authors describe how Stanford Health Care in Stanford, Calif., analyzed 112 survey responses from front-line staff in an effort to reduce CDI rates. The majority of respondents said current education about C-difficile was only somewhat effective. As a result, Stanford Health Care developed seven recommendations to reduce CDIs by prioritizing communication and introducing tools to make prevention and diagnosis guidelines more accessible and concise. (American Journal of Infection Control article, 8/12/23)