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Intra-Hospital Transfers and the Associated Risk of Hospital-Onset Clostridium Difficile Infection

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2018, Master of Arts, Ohio State University, Geography.
One of the greatest challenges faced by modern hospitals is the mitigation of nosocomial infections. Part of what makes their elimination so elusive is that hospitals have yet to fully understand the many facets that allow them to spread so successfully. The synergism of the hospital environment, medical practices, and the patients themselves create an ever-shifting landscape, making the infections difficult to pinpoint. Patient level factors that contribute to the acquisition of illnesses are generally well understood, as are the environmental. However, commonplace medical practices, such as intra-hospital patient transfers, could be propagating nosocomial infections. This research explores if the number of intra-hospital transfers a patient experiences could be associated with the likelihood of them being diagnosed with hospital-onset Clostridium difficile infection, a common nosocomial illness. This is accomplished through mixed methods including logistic regression, social network analysis and spatial analysis utilizing geographic information systems. These indicate that there is a positive association between the number of intra-hospital transfers and diagnosis with hospital-onset Clostridium difficile. Further, local spatial dependency was found when examining the location of rooms associated with the diagnosis of Clostridium difficile. The results provide several potential avenues of intervention including reduction of unnecessary intra-hospital transfers and better targeted sanitization regimes.
Elisabeth Root (Advisor)
Courtney Hebert (Committee Member)
Harvey Miller (Committee Member)
54 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • McHaney, M. (2018). Intra-Hospital Transfers and the Associated Risk of Hospital-Onset Clostridium Difficile Infection [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1524668971169289

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • McHaney, Megan. Intra-Hospital Transfers and the Associated Risk of Hospital-Onset Clostridium Difficile Infection. 2018. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1524668971169289.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • McHaney, Megan. "Intra-Hospital Transfers and the Associated Risk of Hospital-Onset Clostridium Difficile Infection." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1524668971169289

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)