Infection Disease & Health最新文献

{"title":"From basic research to clinical practice: The impact of laminar airflow filters on surgical site infection in vascular surgery","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.idh.2024.04.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.idh.2024.04.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Laminar airflow filters have been suggested as a potential preventive factor for surgical site infections<span><span>, given their ability to reduce the airborne microbiological load. However, their role is still unclear, and evidence regarding vascular surgery patients is scarce. Our aim was to assess the impact of laminar-airflow filters on </span>surgical site infections.</span></p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p><span><span>This single-centre retrospective cohort study was conducted with vascular surgery patients who underwent arterial vascular intervention through a groin </span>incision between July 2018 and July 2019 (turbulent airflow cohort) and July 2020 and July 2021 (laminar airflow cohort). Data were prospectively collected from electronic medical files. We estimated the cumulative incidence of surgical site infections and its 95% confident interval (95%CI). A </span>propensity score matching analysis was performed.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p><span>We included 200 patients, 78 in the turbulent airflow cohort and 122 in the laminar airflow cohort. The cumulative incidence was 15.4% (12/78; 95%CI: 9.0–25.0%) in the turbulent-airflow cohort and 14.8% (18/122; 95%CI: 9.5 –22.1%) in the laminar-airflow cohort (p-value: 1.00). The propensity score matching yielded a cumulative incidence of surgical site infection of 13.9% (10/72) with turbulent airflow and 12.5% (9/72) with laminar airflow (p-value: 1.00). Risk factors associated with infection were chronic kidney disease (OR 2.70; 95%CI: 1.14–6.21) and a greater </span>body mass index (OR 1.47; 95%CI: 1.01–2.14).</p></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><p><span>Laminar airflow filters were associated with a non-significant reduction of surgical site infections. Further research is needed to determine its usefulness and cost-effectiveness. Surgical site infection incidence was associated with chronic kidney disease and a greater body mass index. Hence, efforts should be made to optimize the body mass index before surgery and prevent chronic kidney disease in patients with known </span>arterial disease.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":45006,"journal":{"name":"Infection Disease & Health","volume":"29 4","pages":"Pages 196-202"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-05-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140913610","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Oral care practices and hospital-acquired pneumonia prevention: A national survey of Australian nurses","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.idh.2024.04.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.idh.2024.04.006","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) also known as non-ventilator associated pneumonia, is one of the most common infections acquired in hospitalised patients. Improving oral hygiene appears to reduce the incidence of HAP. This study aimed to describe current practices, barriers and facilitators, knowledge and educational preferences of registered nurses performing oral health care in the Australian hospital setting, with a focus on the prevention of HAP. We present this as a short research report.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>We undertook a cross sectional online anonymous survey of Australian registered nurses. Participants were recruited via electronic distribution through existing professional networks and social media. The survey used was modified from an existing survey on oral care practice.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>The survey was completed by 179 participants. Hand hygiene was considered a very important strategy to prevent pneumonia (n = 90, 58%), while 45% (n = 71) felt that oral care was very important. The most highly reported barriers for providing oral care included: an uncooperative patient; inadequate staffing; and a lack of oral hygiene requisite. Patients' reminders, prompts and the provision of toothbrushes were common ways believed to help facilitate improvements in oral care.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>Findings from this survey will be used in conjunction with consumer feedback, to help inform a planned multi-centre randomised trial, the Hospital Acquired Pneumonia PrEveNtion (HAPPEN) study, aimed at reducing the incidence of HAP. Findings may also be useful for informing studies and quality improvement initiatives aimed at improving oral care to reduce the incidence of HAP.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":45006,"journal":{"name":"Infection Disease & Health","volume":"29 4","pages":"Pages 212-217"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468045124000282/pdfft?md5=54dcc8f5d207395a664b10f38f6b85a1&pid=1-s2.0-S2468045124000282-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140899632","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"N-95/P2 respirator compliance with fit testing recommendations and respirator satisfaction amongst hospital staff","authors":"Liam Hackett ,&nbsp;Melanie (Meilun) Zhang ,&nbsp;Matthew Casey ,&nbsp;Joseph Miller ,&nbsp;Jesse Smith ,&nbsp;Caitlin Low ,&nbsp;Emogene Aldridge ,&nbsp;Patrick J. Owen ,&nbsp;Paul Buntine","doi":"10.1016/j.idh.2024.04.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.idh.2024.04.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Filtering Facepiece Respirators (FFRs) are an important and readily scalable infection control measure; however their effectiveness is ultimately determined by compliance. We aimed to examine staff compliance and satisfaction with wearing the N95/P2 FFRs assigned to them via the standardised fit testing protocol implemented in a single large healthcare network in Victoria, Australia.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>In this cross-sectional survey, employees from five hospital campuses who participated in the health networks N95/P2 FFR fit testing process were invited in person to participate in the study. Data were analysed descriptively, after which chi-squared analysis was performed to determine differences between respirator types, gender, and age groups.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>Amongst the 258 staff members surveyed, 28% had either never or only sometimes worn an FFR to which they had been successfully fit tested, and 11% had experienced facial changes that potentially rendered their most recent fit test invalid. More than half (53%) of those surveyed had experienced side effects, the most common being skin irritation and pressure sores. A majority (87%) of staff felt that wearing an FFR had some impact on their ability to perform their duties. Pooled mean self-reported satisfaction ratings were highest for three-panel flat-fold and duckbill models.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>28% of HCWs surveyed described not wearing N-95/P2 FFRs for which they had successfully been fit tested. Reasons for non-compliance remain unclear, but rates of side effects and interference with duties were high. Further research is required to determine and address potential causative factors and ascertain ongoing optimal organisation-level fit test strategies.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":45006,"journal":{"name":"Infection Disease & Health","volume":"29 3","pages":"Pages 144-151"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-05-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468045124000233/pdfft?md5=f12481f72dc7413415ee31cdb60baa3f&pid=1-s2.0-S2468045124000233-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140856882","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Key lessons from the establishment of a nurse-led infection prevention and control program for COVID-19 in an Australian hotel quarantine and isolation service","authors":"J. Petty ,&nbsp;A. Peacock-Smith ,&nbsp;E. Dawson ,&nbsp;E. McSweeney ,&nbsp;A. Ganesh ,&nbsp;B. McEntee ,&nbsp;R. Einboden","doi":"10.1016/j.idh.2024.03.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.idh.2024.03.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>A key aspect of Australia's response to the COVID-19 pandemic was to control transmission through legislated quarantine and isolation of overseas returning travellers and potentially infectious community members. In New South Wales, Special Health Accommodation (SHA) was rapidly established as a comprehensive health service for individuals that were at risk of having COVID-19, were confirmed to have COVID-19 or for those with complex health needs that were deemed inappropriate for management in Police managed Quarantine Hotels. SHA services were later expanded to care for community members who were COVID-19 positive and unable to effectively isolate, or contacts of individuals who were unable to quarantine effectively in their homes. SHA's unique nurse-led Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) program offers key lessons that may impact future programs.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>A reflection on the experience of leading an Infection Prevention and Control program in SHA was undertaken. This was supported by a review of SHA admission, workforce and transmission data and data obtained from a cross-sectional questionnaire aimed to better understand the experiences of a novel population of health workers (HW) in a comprehensive health-led quarantine and isolation service.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>SHA program data demonstrates how its IPC program implementation prevented transmission of COVID-19 to SHA staff and patients. Responses from the questionnaire suggested staff felt safe and well-prepared through the IPC education they received. They also gained transferrable knowledge and skills, which they intend to use in future healthcare roles.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>The SHA nurse-led IPC program offered successful quarantine and isolation for COVID-19 in non-purpose-built facilities. A review of IPC strategies and key lessons from the establishment of the SHA IPC program are of critical importance to planning and management of current and future pandemics.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":45006,"journal":{"name":"Infection Disease & Health","volume":"29 3","pages":"Pages 130-136"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-04-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S246804512400021X/pdfft?md5=0f0ccfc141acbf1e3c056ee463f3562d&pid=1-s2.0-S246804512400021X-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140853918","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Daily COVID-19 employee attestations at a large quaternary hospital in Melbourne, Australia – Limitations and lessons learnt","authors":"Vivian K.Y. Leung,&nbsp;Elizabeth Orr,&nbsp;Caroline Marshall","doi":"10.1016/j.idh.2024.04.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.idh.2024.04.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>As one of the many measures to limit the potentially infectious persons entering healthcare settings, the Victorian Department of Health (DH) introduced a daily attestation between 2020 and 2022. Upon entry to a health service, employees were required to confirm they were free from symptoms related to COVID-19 and did not have contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case in the previous 7–14 days.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>We performed a retrospective analysis of employee attestations and SARS-CoV-2 tests performed between 1/6/2021 and 14/2/2022 at the main campus of the Royal Melbourne Hospital.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>We found the proportion of SARS-CoV-2 positive employees identified through workplace attestation was low (1.3%). Most SARS-CoV-2 positive employees analysed in this study (94%) were asymptomatic.</p></div><div><h3>Discussion</h3><p>Although the proportion of SARS-CoV-2 positive employees identified was low, attestations may have deterred unwell employees from presenting to work. Proactively monitoring employee attestations, such as measuring and reporting the number of symptomatic attestations, may make this a more useful tool.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":45006,"journal":{"name":"Infection Disease & Health","volume":"29 3","pages":"Pages 180-183"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-04-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140864194","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Knowledge and attitudes of healthcare workers about influenza vaccination","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.idh.2024.04.005","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.idh.2024.04.005","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Influenza infection is a highly contagious viral disease. It may cause several nosocomial outbreaks. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge and attitudes of healthcare workers (HCWs) about influenza vaccination<span> and to identify factors associated with the uptake of influenza vaccination.</span></p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>We conducted a cross-sectional study over 5 months between November 2021 and March 2022. Data was collected using an anonymous self-administered questionnaire. We included all HCWs at Taher Sfar University Hospital who were willing to participate in the study.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>A total of 395 HCWs were included. They were mainly women (78.7%) with an average age of 27 years. The medical personnel was the largest group (67.8%). Most respondents considered the vaccination to be optional and knew that it should be renewed every year, but 97.5% of them judged the efficacy of the vaccine to be low. The influenza vaccination uptake was only 20.2%. The main reasons for accepting vaccination were to protect patients and families. However, misconceptions about the severity and the risk of influenza and the belief that barrier measures were sufficient to prevent infection were the main causes of avoiding vaccination. The factors associated with adherence to vaccination were being a medical professional, old age, longer professional experience, and considering vaccination to be mandatory for HCWs.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>Our study showed a low adherence to influenza vaccination with misconceptions about vaccine efficacy and safety. More efforts are needed to improve the knowledge of HCW about the vaccine and boost the adherence rates.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":45006,"journal":{"name":"Infection Disease & Health","volume":"29 4","pages":"Pages 203-211"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-04-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140874011","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Attitudes to cross infection, nebuliser hygiene and antimicrobial resistance in people with cystic fibrosis: Results of an international survey","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.idh.2024.04.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.idh.2024.04.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p><span><span>Respiratory infection is a major cause of disease severity in people with </span>cystic fibrosis<span> (PwCF). This project aimed to establish the CF community's opinion regarding cross infection (CI), nebuliser hygiene, </span></span>antimicrobial resistance, personal impact of microbiological findings and the role of the microbiology laboratory.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>A questionnaire was completed anonymously (n = 280; PwCF (n = 128), parents (n = 123); friends/family/carers/charity personnel (n = 29)) from 13 countries. Readability scores (Flesch Reading Ease (FRE), Flesch Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL)) were determined for CI/IP&amp;C information from six national CF charities and 21 scientific abstracts.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p><span>Respondents (72.5%) indicated knowledge of laboratory aspects of CF microbiology was important, however implications of microbiological findings on personal health/well-being were of higher importance (p &lt; 0.0001). Cross infection/infection prevention &amp; control (CI/IP&amp;C) was of highest importance (95.6% respondents) with 27.3% indicating they were not given adequate information, particularly in older respondents (50 y+) (p = 0.006) versus young adults (16-29 y) and respondents from the Middle East versus N. America (p = 0.022) and Europe (p = 0.045). Responses highlighted how CI/IP&amp;C health literacy could be enhanced. Respondents (77.3%), particularly females (p &lt; 0.0001), indicated they would increase the frequency of nebuliser </span>disinfection following guidance on infection risks/best practice, therefore an educational video was prepared. CI/IP&amp;C readability scores (mean ± sd) from CF charities (FRE 52.5 ± 10.8; FKGL 9.7 ± 2.3) were more readable (p &lt; 0.0001) than scientific abstracts (FRE 13.3 ± 11.1; FKGL 16.9 ± 2.3), however not meeting the targets (FRE≥60 and FKGL≤8).</p></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>There is a requirement for further CI/IP&amp;C evidence-based guidance, policies/guidelines, education awareness, best practice in the home environment and multi-modal communication, enabling the CF community to make informed choices on lifestyle behaviours.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":45006,"journal":{"name":"Infection Disease & Health","volume":"29 4","pages":"Pages 185-195"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-04-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140762278","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The increasing health burden of Legionella Pneumophila in NSW","authors":"Michael Staff ,&nbsp;Adelaide Nyinawingeri","doi":"10.1016/j.idh.2024.03.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.idh.2024.03.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p><em>Legionella pneumophila</em> can cause severe respiratory disease and is notifiable in NSW. An analysis of notifications linked to hospitalisation and death data over the period 2010–2022 was conducted to determine the burden of disease and any association with the introduction of NSW regulatory changes in 2018.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>Cases were retrospectively identified from the Notifiable Conditions Records for Epidemiology and Surveillance (NCRES). Data on related morbidity and mortality were obtained from linked data within the NSW Communicable Disease Register (CDR). The impact of the regulatory change was evaluated by analysing monthly count data using an interrupted time series analysis.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>A total of 928 cases were notified with 84% admitted to hospital. Annual adjusted notification and admission rates increased over the period from 4.40 to 7.92 cases and 3.72 to 7.20 admissions, per 1,000,000 population, respectively. The mean length of hospital stay (LOS) was 14 days with a median of 8 days (range 1–262 days). Time series analysis identified an underlying increasing time trend in cases notified per month with an IRR of 1.069 (95% ci 0.751–1.523) post 2018 regulatory implementation.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><p><em>L. pneumophila</em> is posing an increasing burden of disease with an underlying upward trend in notification incidence despite the introduction of regulatory changes in 2018.</p></div><div><h3>Implication for public health practice</h3><p>This study demonstrates how linking notification, hospitalisation and death data can measure the health burden of a notifiable condition. Furthermore, time-series analysis using these data is able to identify underlying temporal trends and evaluate policy changes.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":45006,"journal":{"name":"Infection Disease & Health","volume":"29 3","pages":"Pages 137-143"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-04-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140780027","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Development of a rapid, multi-organisational, multi-modal assessment of a newly available disposable respirator","authors":"Irene Ng ,&nbsp;Charles Bodas ,&nbsp;Megan Roberts ,&nbsp;Andrew Coe ,&nbsp;Michelle Smith ,&nbsp;Helen McCann ,&nbsp;Daryl Lindsay Williams","doi":"10.1016/j.idh.2024.03.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.idh.2024.03.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>A rapid large-scale evaluation of a newly available duckbill style P2/N95 respirator, the Care Essentials (CE) MSK-003, was required to determine its suitability for deployment into the Victorian healthcare service. The aims of this study were to assess the feasibility of establishing a rapid, multi-organisational and multi-modal evaluation of the respirator, and to investigate whether this respirator would meet the needs of healthcare workers.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>The evaluation was a collaboration among three healthcare organisations – two tertiary hospitals in metropolitan Melbourne and a rural-based hospital. Participants were healthcare workers undertaking their routine fit tests. They were required to complete quantitative fit testing and a usability assessment survey on the CE MSK-003 respirator. The a priori performance criteria were set as fit test pass rate of &gt;70%, plus satisfactory subjective overall comfort and performance assessments, defined as a rating of adequate, good, or very good in &gt;90% of the cohort.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>A total of 1070 participants completed the multi-modal assessment within a month. Seventy-eight percent of participants passed their quantitative fit test. Over 90% of survey respondents reported that the CE MSK-003 was adequate, good or very good in terms of its overall comfort and performance assessments.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>We demonstrated that a multi-modal evaluation of a new respirator can be rapidly conducted with a high level of participation in a controlled, consistent manner across multiple organisations. The evaluation results of the CE MSK-003 respirator exceeded our predetermined (a priori) minimal criteria, making it suitable for broad distribution to healthcare organisations.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":45006,"journal":{"name":"Infection Disease & Health","volume":"29 3","pages":"Pages 124-129"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-04-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468045124000208/pdfft?md5=3221e2c1d4b780f669aad7db0f9a9261&pid=1-s2.0-S2468045124000208-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140768549","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Capacity building to address antimicrobial resistance in remote Australia: The inaugural HOT NORTH Antimicrobial Academy","authors":"A.C. Bowen ,&nbsp;B. Smith ,&nbsp;K. Daveson ,&nbsp;L. Eldridge ,&nbsp;A. Hempenstall ,&nbsp;T. Mylne ,&nbsp;R. Szalkowski ,&nbsp;K. Van Rooijen ,&nbsp;L. Anderson ,&nbsp;M. Stephens ,&nbsp;S.Y.C. Tong ,&nbsp;T. Yarwood","doi":"10.1016/j.idh.2024.03.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.idh.2024.03.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) for some pathogens in Australia are considerably higher in rural and remote compared to urban regions. The inaugural Hot North Antimicrobial Academy was a 9-month educational programme aimed to build workforce knowledge and capacity in antimicrobial use, audit, stewardship, surveillance and drug resistance in remote primary health care.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>The Academy was advertised to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, regional and remote healthcare workers. Participants were Aboriginal health practitioners, nurses, pharmacists and doctors from Queensland, Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia working in remote primary health care with a focus on Indigenous health. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Academy ran virtually from February–November 2021 using Microsoft Teams. The Academy was evaluated using surveys and yarning circles to assess impact and knowledge gain.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>Participants and faculty from across Australia attended 19 lectures and mentorship sessions. Eleven participants commenced and eight (73%) completed the Academy. The Academy raised participants awareness of AMR guidelines, governance and generating change; built confidence in advocacy; grew knowledge about drug resistant infections; and created a community of AMR champions in Indigenous health.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>The evaluation confirmed the Academy met the needs of participants, provided opportunities to move stewardship from tertiary hospitals into Indigenous and remote clinics and developed skills in research, audit, stewardship and advocacy for all involved. All sessions were recorded for future use, with facilitation by the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) in future years.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":45006,"journal":{"name":"Infection Disease & Health","volume":"29 3","pages":"Pages 117-123"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-03-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468045124000075/pdfft?md5=0089701908f6317a79e2dfdf3e2b6e78&pid=1-s2.0-S2468045124000075-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140330443","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}