US Infection Preventionists

• The major role of IPs is to interpret evidence and act as champions for key infection prevention and control which in turn leads to a low rate of infection.
• As per the report by Healthcare-Prevention Infections Program, the major role of infection preventionists in healthcare is prevention. The report notes that, for successful HAI prevention, IPs are to function as evaluators, HAI prevention experts, consultant and influencer, educator, collaborator, liaison, mentor and leader, and as a customer service agent.
• The association in charge of infection preventionists in the United States is the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC).
• Many IPs are employed in healthcare institutions serving as educators, consultants, researchers, and clinical scientists.
• The majority of APIC members are involved with acute care settings where they direct programs that protect patients and personnel from healthcare-associated infections.
• APIC members also function in long-term care and home healthcare where there is much need for infection prevention and control and a low number of nurses and other healthcare personnel.
• According to Pharmacy One Source, IPs are major stakeholders in patient safety and quality improvement activities.
• Janet Haas, the President of the APIC, says there is a growing need for infection preventionists to acquire certification for their occupation.
• There are more than 16,000 infection preventionists in the United States with certified members 25% larger than the non-certified members.

•  APIC is tasked with the collection, analysis, and interpretation of health data to aid the tracking of infection trends, effectively plan interventions, evaluate success rates, and report any relevant information to public health agencies.
• Establishing scientifically-based infection prevention practices and collaboration with the healthcare team to ensure implementation.
• Functioning as a unit to prevent HAIs in healthcare facilities through the isolation of infections sources and limiting transmission.
•  Teach and train healthcare personnel and the public about infectious diseases and how to curb its spread.

• According to a report by Infection Control Today (ICT), there is a collaboration between healthcare professionals, infection preventionists, and risk managers.
• This collaboration, if increased, will become a positive step toward addressing HAIs.
• Ana Pujols McKee opines that IPs can aid hospital leaders and executives in promoting patient safety culture across hospital units.
• A 2018 survey on healthcare administrator perceptions of IPs indicates that healthcare leaders surveyed indicated positive interest in IPs' function in stewardship programs.
• ICT also reports that "the relationship between the infection prevention and risk management departments at a hospital is a crucial one, and it provides the foundation upon which patient safety and quality improvement efforts can be built."
• Safety/risk managers can help lighten the bulk of work on IPs by coordinating the training of EVS/housekeeping, nursing, and respiratory therapy staff.

The Association of Professionals in Infection Control & Epidemiology

• The Association for Professionals in Infection Control & Epidemiology (APIC) is an entity dedicated to individuals operating as infection preventionists (IPs).
• As stated on the APIC website, the majority of its members consist of those acting in various roles in the medical field, including medical technologists, nurses, microbiologists, physicians, epidemiologists, and public health professionals.
• The association assists these individuals in gathering, interpreting, and examining information to gauge success, share critical data with health institutions, provide information about infections and diseases to the public and healthcare personnel, plan the correct interventions, track infection trends, etc.

Social Media Habits

• According to SimilarWeb, only 1.22% of the APIC website's traffic comes from social media sources. Meanwhile, approximately 77.11% of its traffic originates from searches. Topics that those individuals show interest in include the Mayo Clinic and continuing medical education.
• Around 70.10% of the website's traffic from social media channels comes from Facebook, while 29.90% comes from Twitter.
• Regarding traffic from searches, the top organic keywords for the website include "apic" (12.75%) and "cic certification" (2.54%).
•  Almost one-third of physicians, who help make up the majority of APIC members, partake in various social networks for professional and personal reasons.
• Another site frequented by infection preventionists is Infection Today, which SimilarWeb reports has 1.25% of its web traffic coming from social media and 79.18% from searches.
• Infection Today's social media traffic breakdown goes as follows: Facebook (69.99%), Twitter (19.44%), LinkedIn (6.50%), and YouTube (4.07%).
• For Infection Today, visitors, which primarily consists of infection prevention specialists, interests include reference materials such as encyclopedias and dictionaries, as well as topics surrounding science and education and health conditions/concerns.

Preferred Media Outlets

• Some media outlets that infection preventionists who frequent the Infection Today website (nearly 200,000 monthly visits) visit include Researchgate, Science Direct, and WebMD.
• Meanwhile, those who use the APIC website, which currently has more than 53,000 monthly visits, exhibit a preference for using Science Direct.

Conferences They Attend

• One conference that infection prevention specialists partake in is the Annual Infection Prevention Conference hosted by VCU Health and the Department of Infection Prevention, Control, & Epidemiology. At this gathering, healthcare professionals, including infection prevention specialists discuss practices for infection control and prevention, present procedures for disinfection and sterilization, and analyze techniques for stopping infectious diseases from spreading to patients and healthcare workers.
• The next event is scheduled for September 12, 2019, in Glen Allen, Virginia. The speakers include Mark Rupp, M.D., Amy J. Mathers, M.D., and Priya Nori, M.D. Additionally, there will be a discussion panel on topics surrounding infection prevention.

• Each year, the California Ambulatory Surgery Association (CASA) holds a seminar focusing on the prevention of the spread of infections in the ASC. The event includes a CASA Certificate of Training Program and interactive workshops.
• The 12th Annual Seminar will be held Westin South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, California, on November 7-8, 2019. Speakers will include Irma Chouehne (Infection Control Nurse Consultant), Deborah L. Mack (Independent Healthcare Consultant), and Twainia Lillard (Infection Control Nurse Consultant).

• The Applied Learning Conference from the APIC is brand-new and is targeted at infection preventionists seeking to progress their careers. This two-day event will offer resources to help them improve and network with others in the field. It will be centered on antibiotics and microbiology, as well as topics such as sterilization, disinfection, and cleaning.
• The 1st Applied Learning Conference is scheduled for October 26-27, 2019, and will occur at the Marriott St. Louis Grand in St. Louis, Missouri.

Leading Influencers

• While working at Clark Regional Medical Center, Teresa Daniels helped developed a program educating the environmental services (EVS) staff members about terminal cleaning, multidrug-resistant organisms, environmental surfaces contamination, and high-touch cleaning. The program was based on both APIC and environmental surfaces cleaning guidelines and resulted in a reduction in HA-CDI rates at the facility within a year. She later implemented the program at another health facility, leading to similar results.
• She, along with her EVS team, eventually developed a three-level ladder program that concentrated on performance enhancement, certification, and education. Furthermore, she advised the Association for the Health Care Environment and the Kentucky Hospital Association to initiate "train-the-trainer training" for EVS workers statewide.
• Daniels served as the host at the very first statewide training seminar for Certified Healthcare Environmental Services Technicians (T-CHEST) in the United States in 2018. In 2019, she was honored at the APIC's 46th Annual Conference and was awarded the Heroes of Infection Prevention Award.

• At the University of Wisconsin Hospitals & Clinics, Marc-Oliver Wright serves as a clinical infection control practitioner. He once operated as the president of the APIC's chapter in Chicago and was on the association's Board of Directors (Treasurer), Consensus Conference Steering Committee, Surveillance Technology Task Force, and Research Committee.
• As of today, Wright is the Section Editor of Surveillance Methods & Technology for the American Journal of Infection Control, a peer-reviewed journal from the APIC. He has worked with the CDC's National Healthcare Safety Network to produce "an interactive case study series" to assist infection preventionists in progressing HAI surveillance.
• Recently, the APIC awarded Wright with the President's Distinguished Service Award in 2019 for his contributions to IPs throughout the nation.

Additional Findings

• Percentage of infection preventionists that use social media for causes related to infection prevention: 35% No, 65% Yes
• Uses social media for personal, non-work means: 32% No, 68% Yes
• Engages in social media for the purpose of professional networking: 58% No, 42% Yes

•  Twitter: Under 10% 
•  LinkedIn: 29% 
•  None: 36% 
•  Facebook: 63% 

• Uses social media to obtain educational material: 20% 
• Uses social media to network with colleagues: 32% 

• Under one hour each day: 63% 
• Under five hours each day: 15% 

• Uses the Internet to find information from news/media outlets: 33% 
• Utilizes the Internet to find information from agencies such as NIOSH and the CDC: 55% 
• Uses the Internet to locate information from professional societies/associations: 55% 

Research Strategies:

the us infection prevention market

• The 2019 United States infection prevention market is estimated at $26 billion.
• The market is expected to grow at CAGR of 4.9%.
• In 2020, the US infection prevention market will be worth approximately $27.6 billion. 
• The US infection prevention market comprises three main categories; infection prevention supplies, infection prevention services and infection prevention equipment.
• The infection prevention supplies market is expected to have a share of 75% the total US market followed by the services market segment with a share of 21% and the least being equipment market segment with a 4% share.
• Becton Dickinson, Cardinal Health, and STERIS are some key leaders in the industry.

RESEARCH STRATEGY

TOTAL NUMBER OF INFECTION PREVENTION SPECIALISTS; UNITED STATES

• The total number of infection prevention specialists (IPS) in the United States was estimated to be 456,377.
• According to a survey conducted by the Association of Professionals in Infection Prevention and Epidemiology, the median IP staffing was 1.25 IPs per 100 inpatients.
• According to a survey conducted by the American Hospital Association, the total number of inpatients in the United States was estimated to be 36,510,207.
• An infection prevention specialist is a person that provides a safe environment for medical staff, patients, and visitors.
• An inpatient is a person whose condition requires treatment in a hospital or other health care facility admitted by a doctor.

RESEARCH STRATEGY

CALCULATIONS