The Present Situation of Infection Control Professionals, Organization, and Activities in Korean Acute Care General Hospitals.
- Author:
Jae Sim JEONG
;
Sung Won YOON
;
Eun Suk PARK
;
Kyung Mi KIM
;
So Yeon YOO
;
Ihnsook JEONG
;
Yong Ae SHIN
;
Sun Ju CHOI
;
Seung Ju KIM
;
Hyang Soon OH
;
Bong Su KIM
;
Yeong Seon LEE
;
Sook Ja YANG
;
Sang Ill KIM
;
Young Goo SONG
;
Yang Soo KIM
;
Moon Won KANG
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Healthcare associated infection;
Infection control;
Infection control practitioner;
Infection control program;
Nosocomial infection;
Organization
- MeSH:
Cross Infection;
Hospitals, General*;
Humans;
Infection Control Practitioners;
Infection Control*;
Inpatients;
Korea;
Postal Service;
Surveys and Questionnaires
- From:Korean Journal of Nosocomial Infection Control
2006;11(1):58-69
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
BACKGROUND: It has been more than 15 years since infection control was first introduced in Korea, but there is little information available on the status of infection control program in the country. METHODS: Included in the study were 139 acute care hospitals with more than 300 inpatient beds. A questionnaire, modified from US SENIC (Study on the Efficacy of Nosocomial Infection Control) and Canadian RICH (Resources for Infection Control in Canadian Acute Care Hospitals) survey, was mailed to the hospitals in the winter of 2003. RESULTS: Ninety-eight (70.5%) of 139 hospitals responded. There was an average of 1.2 (SD, 0.7) Infection Control Practitioners (lCPs) in each hospital and 95.7% were nurses and only 56.5% of the ICPs worked as full-time. The 71.4% of the hospitals had a position for Infection Control Doctor. All hospitals had an Infection Control Committee, which met an average of 3.7 (SD, 1.7) times a year. The 85.7% of the hospitals performed surveillance, but only 31.6% were monitoring surgical site infections. Review of microbiology data was the most common method for case-finding. More than 90% of the hospitals had infection control policies and guidelines, but an adherence to the policies and guidelines was not monitored regularly. CONCLUSION: This study reports the first comparable profile of infection control program of general acute care hospitals in Korea. Although the foundation for infection control program appears to have been established, there is the need for a further increase in the number of ICPs, the standardization of the surveillance method, and the promotion of adherence to the infection control guidelines.
