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Category: Infection Control

As part of a long-standing commitment to health education and training in the Western Hemisphere, PAHEF awarded a grant to the Universidad Nacional de la Plata in Argentina for a pilot project to fight health care-associated infections (HCAIs) in that country.

Worldwide, the development of HCAIs is a major problem that is compounded by the high rates of antibiotic resistance found among the bacteria that cause them. HCAI rates are twice as high in resource-poor countries than in more developed nations. Higher rates of HCAIs in developing nations can often be attributed to a lack of resources, infrastructure, and infection control training for health care personnel. HCAIs take an economic toll, too. Extensive recovery periods cause patients to miss work for longer periods of time and may strain their families’ already stretched finances.

For the project in Argentina, three hospitals, two schools (one nursing and one medical), and one health center in the province of Entre Ríos participated in the project, which focused on integrating a microbiology laboratory’s results with the use of antibiotics and an infection control program.

Project’s Goals
The project aimed to:
1.    improve the management and prevention of HCAIs at hospitals that were working closely with Universidad Nacional de la Plata;
2.    develop health education programs to teach modern infection control practices to health care workers and students;
3.    create infection control manuals.

The Approach
The hospital pilot programs gathered data on surgical site infections, patient care practices, and emerging pathogens to help the study’s investigators determine how often post-operative infections occurred. Patient care practices and microbiology records were reviewed to understand the HCAI landscape at each facility.

Weekly lectures were given to health care workers and medical students to improve attitudes about infection prevention. In elementary schools, children were taught hygiene basics.

Dr. Silvia Acosta-Gnass, chief of infection control at the Facultad de Ciencas de la Salud, Universidad Adventista de la Plata, wrote a book entitled Manual de control de infecciones y epidemiología hospitalaria. It was published in 2010 by PAHEF and PAHO’s joint book publishing program, PALTEX (The Expanded Textbook and Instructional Materials Program).

The manual outlines policies and procedures based on scientifically-proven practices. Infection control is approached from the perspectives of protecting patients as well as caregivers.

It is hoped this project can be replicated throughout Latin America to improve patient outcomes by reducing the number of HCAIs in the region.

PAHEF’s Commitment
Infection control is not only a matter of life or death in Latin America. Worldwide, health centers work to prevent HCAIs. The financial burden hospitals incur, lost worker productivity, excessive use of antibiotics, and the increased emotional stress placed on loved ones as they watch the patient suffer are costs too high to go ignored. For these reasons, PAHEF is committed to promoting health education that reduces HCAIs and creates healthier health care environments.

By making infection control projects possible in Argentina and other regions of Latin America, PAHEF has not only enhanced the knowledge of health care workers, but also improved healthy outcomes for patients, which in turn benefits society on multiple levels.
Support of this HCAI project in Argentina is just one example of how PAHEF advances health in the Americas.