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Infection Control Dogma: Top 10 Suspects

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Lilia P. Manangan ,
Gina Pugliese ,
Marguerite Jackson ,
Patricia Lynch ,
Annette H. Sohn ,
Ronda L. Sinkowitz-Cochran  and
William R. Jarvis
Lilia P. Manangan*
Affiliation:
Hospital Infections Program, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Public Health Service, United States Department of Health and Human Services, Atlanta, Georgia
Gina Pugliese
Affiliation:
Premier Safety Institute, Chicago, Illinois
Marguerite Jackson
Affiliation:
University of California–San Diego Medical Center, San Diego, California
Patricia Lynch
Affiliation:
Epidemiology Associates, Seattle, Washington
Annette H. Sohn
Affiliation:
Hospital Infections Program, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Public Health Service, United States Department of Health and Human Services, Atlanta, Georgia Epidemic Intelligence Service, Division of Applied Public Health Training, Epidemiology Program Office, CDC, Public Health Service, United States Department of Health and Human Services, Atlanta, Georgia
Ronda L. Sinkowitz-Cochran
Affiliation:
Hospital Infections Program, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Public Health Service, United States Department of Health and Human Services, Atlanta, Georgia
William R. Jarvis
Affiliation:
Hospital Infections Program, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Public Health Service, United States Department of Health and Human Services, Atlanta, Georgia
*
Hospital Infections Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Mailstop E-69, 1600 Clifton Rd, Atlanta, GA 30333
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Abstract

As infection control evolved into an art and science through the years, many infection control practices have become infection control dogmas (principles, beliefs, ideas, or opinions). In this “Reality Check” session of the 4th Decennial International Conference on Nosocomial and Healthcare-Associated Infections, we assessed participants' perceptions of prevalent infection control dogmas. The majority of participants agreed with all dogmas having evidence of efficacy, except for the dogma on the frequency of changing mechanical-ventilator tubing. In contrast, the majority of participants disagreed with dogmas not having evidence of efficacy, except for the dogma on perineal care, umbilical cord care, and reminder signs for isolation precaution. As for controversial dogmas, many of the responses were almost evenly distributed between “agree” and “disagree.” Infection control professionals were knowledgeable about evidence-based infection control practices. However, many of the respondents still believe in some of the non–evidence-based dogmas.

Type
From the 4th Decennial International Conference
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 22 , Issue 4 , April 2001 , pp. 243 - 247
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 2001

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