Mrs. Ann Whitfield1, Dr Rhonda McKelvie1, Ms Sam Woodsford1, Mrs. Robyn Davidson1, Dr Patricia McClunie-Trust2
1Health New Zealand – Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand, 2WINTEC, Hamilton, New Zealand, 3University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand
Biography:
Sam Woodsford (Clinical Nurse Specialist) and Robyn Davidson (Registered Nurse) are members of the Health New Zealand Waikato Infection Prevention and Control Team. Collectively Sam and Robyn have 40 years of nursing experience across primary, secondary and tertiary level care. With their most recent focus being outbreak management.
Abstract:
This presentation describes a partnership between Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) clinicians and researchers to demonstrate how evidence-based practice and practice-based evidence can be enhanced through these collaborations. The team are working together on a rigorous scoping review by collaborating in structured online sessions that include coaching on screening evidence utilising a digital platform (Covidence). This process ensures that detailed clinical data from the outbreak, and the IPC team experience, informs the inclusion criteria for the scoping review, and the protocols, procedures and guideline recommendations that will result. To date the team has collectively screened 1000+ Randomised Controlled Trials to extract data on frameworks and interventions as an evidence base for the construction of cleaning guidelines. There will be multiple outcomes from the collaboration including, 1.) a report to support investment in environmental cleaning strategies including specific resources, relationships (human factors such as education, attitudes, expectations, roles), procedures, and protocols, 2.) publication of a scoping review as a prelude to primary research studies, 3.) publication of a qualitative study of the IPC team experience of responding to and managing the unprecedented outbreak, and 4.) inform organisational guidelines for environmental cleaning for adoption by national health hospital services. The key value of the collaboration is the production of evidence-based guidelines to reduce healthcare acquired infections and the resulting impact on patients, morbidity, delays, and hospital performance (targets, acute flow, resources utilisation and cost savings). The environmental cleaning guidelines will contribute to a reduction in multi-drug resistant organism transmission.