Study: Staff shortages increase hospital infection rates

Editor's Note

Research published in the American Journal of Infection Control finds that inadequate infection prevention and control (IP) staffing is associated with higher rates of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), including central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI), catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI), Clostridioides difficile infections, and colon surgical site infections. 

Medical Xpress published the news October 10. According to the article, the study evaluated 390 acute care hospitals using a new online calculator developed by the APIC Center for Research, Practice & Innovation. The tool provides facility-specific recommendations for optimal IP staffing, addressing limitations in traditional staffing benchmarks that rely on inpatient bed ratios. Nearly 80% of hospitals analyzed were found to have insufficient IP staffing, and facilities with below-expected staffing levels reported significantly higher infection rates.

Other key findings include:

• 25% of under-staffed hospitals reported elevated CAUTI rates, compared to 7% of adequately staffed facilities.
• Staffing ratios varied, with small hospitals averaging 1 IP per 40 beds and larger hospitals peaking at 1 IP per 161 beds.
• Over 85% of respondents who believed their staffing was inadequate were confirmed to have lower-than-expected IP staffing levels.

The study underscores the importance of moving beyond outdated “one size fits all” staffing models, offering customized recommendations based on factors like hospital size, service complexity, and the presence of specialized units such as emergency or burn units.