Facts

Contact person:
Martina Mocenic
Financer:
  • Faculty/department: Malmö University Faculty of Health and Society
  • Department of Care Science
  • Pula General Hospital Croatia
Responsible at MaU:
Vedrana Vejzovic
Project members at MaU:
External project members:
  • Irena Hrstic Pula Croatia
Time frame:
01 November 2022 - 01 November 2030
Faculty/department:
Research subject:

About the project

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) cause many comorbidities and deaths worldwide. No country or healthcare system can claim to be free of HAIs. What is the easiest way to explain healthcare-associated infections? Quite simply: an infection that should not occur if all processes are carried out correctly by healthcare staff.

Aim

Environmental hygiene in healthcare gained great importance during the Covid 19 pandemic and is still the subject of research today. The primary aim of this project is to investigate the perception and impact of hospital environmental hygiene on healthcare-associated infections in Croatia. Furthermore, the second aim is to find and implement specific elements of a transferable cleaning model and test its effectiveness on HAIs.

Method

During the research project, different methods will be applied which will have an overall exploratory approach. The first study will be conducted using a quantitative design methodology. The questionnaire Health Care Environmental Hygiene Self Assessment Framework (HEHSAF) translated from English to Croatian language will be used.

The results of the quantitative study will be further used to derive questions to be investigated in the second study, which will be conducted using a qualitative methodological design. By the use of focus groups or individual interviews, we will triangulate the results from the first study and/or also to obtain new/additional perspectives.

Objective

The final research objective will be the implementation of a transferable cleaning model and its potential impact on hospital hygiene and the reduction of hospital-acquired infections improving patient safety. The research will be conducted in Croatian hospitals and clinics including 29 of 35 hospitals and clinics in the country for which ethical approval was received.