The Preventing Infections Through Appropriate Staffing (PITAS) study will address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on infection prevention and control departments, healthcare-associated infection (HAI) rates and rates of antibiotic resistance in acute care hospitals. In this study, we will also describe the evolution of infection prevention and control (IPC) programs over the last decade.
The aims of the study are to:
- Describe the evolution of IPC programs from 2011 to 2019 and determine the effectiveness of IPC staffing, infrastructure and processes in preventing HAI in acute care hospitals;
- Quantify the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on infection prevention and control departments, HAI rates and rates of antibiotic resistance in acute care hospitals; and
- Develop an in-depth understanding of the impact of COVID-19 on infection preventionists, IPC resources and practices in acute care hospitals.
Who is conducting the study and who is funding it?
The study is being conducted by Dr. Monika Pogorzelska-Maziarz from Thomas Jefferson University and Dr. Pamela de Cordova from Rutgers University (co-principal investigators) and other researchers from Thomas Jefferson University, Columbia University, and the RAND Corporation.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality is funding this research (R01HS029023).
Background
Nationally, healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are a costly patient safety concern in acute care hospitals. Infection Preventionists (IPs) and infection prevention and control (IPC) departments play an integral role in implementing evidence-based policies and procedures to prevent, mitigate and control HAIs. However, evidence describing and validating appropriate IP staffing is lacking. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has placed an enormous strain on the healthcare system. Emerging evidence suggests that the pandemic has resulted in increased rates of HAI in the acute care setting. However, the impact of the pandemic on IPC departments, including staffing and resources, and on routine IPC activities is unknown. We designed a unique and innovative study to determine how IPC departments have responded to the pandemic and the effectiveness of IPC infrastructure and processes in preventing HAIs.
Study Participation
Who is eligible to participate?
We are recruiting infection control departments from all acute care hospitals in the United States to participate in the study. We are looking for one response per hospital so the survey should be completed by the Infection Control Director or the person in charge of infection control department in the hospital. If you are not sure if your facility is eligible to participate or have any questions, please contact the study team at PITAS-Study@jefferson.edu or 1-888-IP-Study (1-888-477-8839).
What is involved in participation?
Participation in the study consists of two steps:
- Completing the PITAS Survey (30-45 minutes)
You can save the answers to your questions and come back to the survey at a later time.
- Sharing NHSN data through the PITAS NHSN group – (5 minutes)
Once you complete the PITAS survey, please follow instructions below to join the PITAS NHNS group.
All data are confidential, and no hospital or individual will be identified in any report. This study has been approved by the Thomas Jefferson University and Rutgers University Institutional Review Board (IRB).
What are the benefits of participation?
- Your valuable insights will help shape the future of infection prevention and control.
- Responses to the survey will be used to make recommendations and develop strategies to improve infection prevention and control department staffing and resource allocation.
- You will be helping to advance infection prevention and control research.
- You will have a chance to win $100 Amazon electronic gift cards in a weekly lottery. Ten prizes will be given out each week across the survey period.
Who do I contact if I have questions about the study?
For any questions, please contact the study team at
PITAS-Study@jefferson.edu or 1-888-IP-Study (1-888-477-8839).
Meet the Team
Thomas Jefferson University College of Nursing
Monika Pogorzelska-Maziarz, PhD, MPH, CIC, FAPIC, FSHEA
Monika Pogorzelska-Maziarz is an Associate Professor at the Jefferson College of Nursing, where her research focuses on improving patient safety and quality of care, specifically prevention of health care-associated infections across different health care settings.
Mary Lou Manning, PhD, CRNP, CIC, FAPIC, FSHEA, FAAN
Dr. Manning is a Professor at Thomas Jefferson University College of Nursing, and will serve as our expert Infection Preventionist and Senior Nurse Researcher.
Julia Kay, BFA
Julia Kay is a Program Director for Jefferson Center for Infection Prevention & Antibiotic Stewardship.
Marli Weisman
Marli Weisman is a Research Assistant who is working on full-texts review at The Jefferson Center for Infection Prevention & Antibiotic Stewardship, PITAS project.
Thomas Jefferson University College of Population Health
Vittorio Maio, PharmD, MS, MSPH
Dr. Maio is a Professor of Population Health and Director of the Applied Health Economics & Outcomes Research Programs. Dr. Maio has a solid background in health service and outcomes research, as well as significant expertise in analyses using large healthcare database.
Dr. George is an Assistant Professor at Thomas Jefferson University College of Population Health.
Sidney Kimmel Medical College
Dr. Keith is an Associate Professor of Biostatistics at Thomas Jefferson University. Dr. Keith has expertise in experimental and observational data analysis and linear and nonlinear modeling of outcomes. In addition, Dr. Keith has contributed to study design, power and sample size calculations, consulted on study protocols and analysis plans, conducted data analyses, and prepared statistical reports resulting in papers, abstracts, and presentations at national conferences with his collaborators.
Rutgers University
Pamela B. de Cordova, PhD, RN-BC
Dr. de Cordova is an Associate Professor and Faculty Researcher for the NJCCN, Rutgers University.
Muskaan Uppal, BS
Muskaan is a Thomas Jefferson University first year medical student, working as a Research Assistant, under Dr. Pamela de Cordova. Her support consists of survey recruitment, systematic review and environmental scan.
Expert Consultants
Andrew Dick is a senior health economist at the RAND Corporation. He has expertise in the development of methods and empirical applications of quality assessment with a focus on applied econometric methods for drawing causal inference.
Patricia Stone, PhD, MPH, MSN, BSN, FAAN, FAPIC
Patricia Stone is the Centennial Professor of Health Policy and director of the Center for Health Policy. Her program of research is aimed at understanding cost and quality outcomes, specifically health care-associated infections (HAI).
Advisory Board
- Sarah Krein
- Ingrid Nembhard
- Eli Perencevich
- Terri Rebmann
- Henrietta Smith
Contact
PITAS Study Team
PITAS-Study@jefferson.edu