The GAIHN-HAI PPS Project:

Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) are a significant risk to patient safety and its prevalence in hospital facilities is often unknown or under-characterized. Describing the burden of HAIs is critical to decrease risk and guide infection prevention and control (IPC) initiatives in hospitals and other healthcare facilities. The GAIHN-HAI PPS Project reflects collaborations between the U.S. CDC, APHL, and GAIHN-HAI facilities and implementing partners to provide sustainable methods for measuring HAI burden using point prevalence survey (PPS) methodology and use data for action in resource-limited healthcare settings.

GAIHN-HAI PPS Data Collection Application:

PPS can be challenging; the GAIHN-HAI PPS Project was created to be responsive to users to more easily conduct an HAI PPS. The GAIHN-HAI PPS data collection application was designed to streamline the process of manual data collection and analysis and address challenges in implementation.

What is a PPS?

An HAI point prevalence survey (PPS) is an epidemiological method to measure the prevalence of HAIs in healthcare settings. Data are collected using a standardized protocol at a specific point in time to measure HAI rates among hospitalized patients during the survey period.

User Roles and Management

The application supports the creation and management of:

Users with defined roles and permissions
Defined facilities and wards
Data collection surveys

Data collection
The application is a responsive system in which users are guided through the HAI PPS data collection protocol by following a series of simple step-by-step patient data collection forms (pages) and questions. Built-in logic underlies the data collection steps to guide the data collector and efficiently gather necessary data.

Data output
The standardized and high-quality data output can be utilized for HAI prevalence estimation to improve infection prevention and control practices to protect patient safety. These data also support classification of HAI as defined in the protocol.

Data security
The GAIHN-HAI PPS data collection application is hosted on the AIMS platform in Singapore. Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) Moderate standard with successful 3rd party audits, and successful 3rd party penetration tests are part of the robust security and compliance program. These standards and focused data security activities ensure a secure environment, access, data privacy and accountability.

Benefits of this web
application technology solution

Device agnostic tool can be utilized on any mobile, tablet or desktop device with a compatible browser.
On-line and off-line capabilities will be possible in future development of the system.
Allows for a customizable solution with an intuitive and user-friendly interface and data collection experience.
Simple to get started and does not require downloading an app.
Web-based system allows for a secure hosting environment and data privacy, meeting proven data security standards including NIST/FISMA moderate.

To learn more about the app and how to use it for your facility’s PPS needs, refer to the user guide and trainings.

Data Management and Analysis

The GAIHN-HAI PPS Project progressive web app is an intuitive and responsive data collection tool. Data can be exported in a CSV file identical to the REDCap data collection instance initially developed by the GAIHN-HAI team. Data analysis can then be performed using SAS or R.