Donate to the Health Care Associated Infection Control Initiative
This is a collaborative project with our colleagues from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). Healthcare associated infections (HAIs) are a major problem for hospitals and other healthcare delivery settings in developed and developing countries throughout the world. The proposal has been offered through our standard, “call for tenders” process, but also invites you to personally invest in this initiative. The total cost of the project is: $6,147,200.
HAIs are a major cause of morbidity, and a serious cause of mortality among affected individuals. In addition to patient pain and suffering, HAIs increase healthcare costs resulting from the need for extended hospital stays, additional drugs, and other diagnostic and therapeutic measures. HAIs also generate indirect costs from loss of productivity for the patient and society as a whole. HAI rates in developed countries are known. However, in developing countries, HAI rates are not well known. In fact, only 23 out of 147 (15.6%) developing countries surveyed in 2010 reported having a functioning HAI national surveillance system. Limited studies suggest HAI rates exceed 10% to 20% among hospitalized patients in developing countries. Currently, no data are available to estimate the overall incidence of HAIs in most of Latin America and the Caribbean. In the period 1995-2010, prevalence rates of 7.3 % and 14% were reported by Cuba and Brazil, respectively. A few countries, such as Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, have gathered long term incidence data using standardized definitions under the leadership of national authorities. For most other countries, a few short-term studies show widely varying HAI rates, mainly because different methods of surveillance were applied.
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