Health Care–Associated Infections

Health care–associated infections (HAIs) are a major problem in health care settings globally, making surveillance and prevention a key priority in institutions committed to patient safety. Given that acquisition of an HAI results in prolonged hospitalization, antimicrobial resistance, increased patient mortality, and financial burden for health care institutions, it is one of the most important issues facing contemporary nursing practice. The major categories of HAIs are catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI), central line–associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI), surgical site infections (SSI), and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2016a)