1. Cross-sectional study on factors hampering implementation of measles pre- and postexposure measures in Dutch hospitals during the 2013-2014 measles outbreak.
- Author
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Fievez LCR, Wong A, Ruijs WLM, Meerstadt-Rombach FS, and Timen A
- Subjects
- Cross-Sectional Studies, Hospitals, Humans, Netherlands epidemiology, Surveys and Questionnaires, Disease Outbreaks, Disease Transmission, Infectious prevention & control, Health Personnel, Infection Control methods, Measles epidemiology, Measles prevention & control
- Abstract
Background: This study examined adherence to national recommendations on measles pre- and postexposure measures, including immunization of health care workers (HCWs) in Dutch hospitals, during a national outbreak of measles in The Netherlands. This study also investigated which hospital characteristics and organizational issues hamper implementation., Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey among all general and academic hospitals in The Netherlands. An online structured questionnaire (48 questions) was administered. Analysis was performed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression., Results: Of 88 hospitals, 70 (79.5%) were included. Of 68 hospitals, 48 (70.6%) assessed susceptibility to measles in HCWs. Of 70 hospitals, 61 (87.1%) offered vaccination to susceptible HCWs. Of 63 hospitals, 42 (66.7%) had postexposure policies consistent with national recommendations. Of 62 hospitals, 30 (48.4%) implemented all these measures, which is the minimum set of measures considered necessary to adequately prevent measles in HCWs. Logistic regression suggests that hospitals with several locations, hospitals with more employees, and hospitals where infectious disease experts designed infection prevention policies while occupational health experts implemented the policy less often implemented this minimum set of measures (P < .001, P < .01, and P < .001, respectively)., Conclusions: During a national measles outbreak, most hospitals took measures to prevent measles in HCWs, but less than half implemented the minimum set of measures required. Implementation strategies in hospitals need to be improved, especially in large-sized hospitals and hospitals with several locations, and with respect to the assignment of responsibilities for infection prevention policies., (Copyright © 2017 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2017
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