Patients receiving care at the University of Virginia (UVA) pediatric and adult cystic fibrosis programs shared their concerns that although infection prevention and control (IPC) guidelines were being followed in their CF clinic, they did not feel as
safe when receiving care in other departments. Many reported that staff in other departments did not gown and glove, for example. This feedback was provided through the Patient and Family Experience of Care (PFEC) survey.
Rhonda List, the quality improvement project coordinator for the pediatric and adult programs at UVA, observed that despite the low response rate of the PFEC surveys, “this was a priority for us because it involved patient safety,” and the teams decided
to undertake IPC quality improvement projects to address the issue.
Approach
Turnover in other departments often made sustaining IPC protocols a challenge, so the UVA CF teams empowered their patients to advocate for themselves when receiving care from staff beyond the CF clinic.
UVA patients and families were given printed resources to share with hospital staff: paper handouts for pediatric patients; laminated wallet cards for adult patients. Empowering their patients to speak on their own behalf “has turned out to be probably
our biggest and best outreach effort. We've continued to do this,” says List.
Actions the UVA CF teams took included:
- Placing hygiene stations throughout Children's Hospital
- Re-educating staff in other departments about IPC protocols
- Providing staff in other departments with laminated badges for easy reference to CF IPC protocols
- Continued vigilance at the CF clinic by monitoring the cleaning of exam rooms between patients
Next Steps
The UVA CF teams continue to educate their colleagues and empower their patients and families to advocate for themselves. However, the teams also recognize that more can be done, but they need more patients to complete the PFEC surveys to lobby for organizational
IPC change at their hospital.
To encourage more of their patients and families to complete the PFEC survey, the UVA teams are:
- Providing adults with iPads for survey completion during clinic visits
- Promoting awareness of the PFEC survey in the pediatric clinic
- Sharing PFEC survey results with adult and pediatric patients via newsletters
“We need their voices guiding our improvement efforts toward areas that matter most to all of us,” said List.
Does your care center want to implement the use of an IPC card? Consider using the CF Foundation IPC Passport.