Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Research Protocols
Date Submitted: May 1, 2024
Date Accepted: Jun 24, 2024
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Improving antibiotic use in nursing homes by infection prevention and control and antibiotic stewardship (IMAGINE): Protocol for a before-and-after intervention and implementation study.
ABSTRACT
Background:
Despite the extensive utilization of antibiotics and the growing challenge of antimicrobial resistance, there has been a lack of substantial initiatives aimed at diminishing the prevalence of infections in nursing homes and enhancing the detection of urinary tract infections (UTIs).
Objective:
This study aims to systematise and enhance efforts to prevent healthcare associated infections, mainly UTIs and reduce antibiotic inappropriateness by implementing a multifaceted intervention targeting healthcare professionals in nursing homes.
Methods:
Before-and-after intervention study carried out in a minimum of 12 nursing homes in each of the eight European participating countries (Denmark, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain). A mean of four professionals consisting of nurses, doctors, healthcare assistants, or healthcare helpers are actively involved in each nursing home. Over the initial three-month period, professionals in each nursing home are registering information on urinary tract infections as well as infection and prevention control measures by means of the Audit Project Odense method. The audit will be repeated after implementing a multifaceted intervention. The intervention will consist of feedback and discussion of the results from the first registration, training on the implementation of infection and prevention control techniques provided by experts, appropriateness of the diagnostic approach and antibiotic prescribing for UTIs, and provision of information materials on infection control and antimicrobial stewardship targeted to staff, residents, and relatives.
Results:
A total of 108 nursing homes have participated in the pilot study and the first registration audit. The results of the first audit registration are expected to be published in autumn of 2024. The final results will be published by the end of 2025.
Conclusions:
This is a European Union-funded project aimed at contributing to the battle against antimicrobial resistance through improvement of the quality of management of common infections based on evidence-based interventions tailored to the nursing home setting and a diverse range of professionals. We expect an increase in the number of hygiene activities implemented, a reduction in the number of inappropriately managed UTIs, and a reduction in the number of UTIs after the intervention. Clinical Trial: European Commission (EU4H-2021-PJ-14), Grant Agreement No. 101079838.
Citation
Request queued. Please wait while the file is being generated. It may take some time.
Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.