Preparedness and capacity building for emerging epidemics

EuroNHID - European Network for Highly Infectious Diseases

Summary:

The EuroNHID project aims to develop evidence-based checklists to assess hospital capabilities on infection control and healthcare workers' (HCWs') safety in a network of centres involved in the management of patients affected by highly infectious diseases (HIDs). Selected centres involved in or planning for management of HIDs will be identified in participating countries and will be surveyed using the checklists. Collected data will be revised to define affordable and sustainable improvements based on pre-existing conditions, national goals and priorities, which are consistent with EU Community policy. A final report, as an open-access source for the safe management of HID, will be issued.

Problem:

In recent years, attention has been increasingly focused on threats to health security, including those that might be caused by emerging infections or by deliberate release of biological agents. Isolation capabilities, infection control procedures, and skills of HCWs are fundamental issues for HID containment. From recent public health threats, such as the SARS epidemic, we learned that it is important to assess the effectiveness of infection control practices planned by national and local authorities, and to improve HCWs' knowledge of, and compliance with, safer procedures and policies.

Some deliverables of EuroNHID will integrate the results of the previous project EUNID. In particular, EuroNHID will verify the applicability of the standards evidenced by EUNID as experts' recommendations in the field of minimum requirements for referral hospitals, and staff safety.

The added value of the project consists in providing an 'on-the-field' evaluation of European capabilities that could enable passing from a theoretical to a practical, and practicable, approach to infection control and HCWs' safety in the management of patients affected by HIDs, and from a quantitative to a qualitative evaluation of hospital capability in dealing with agents of HIDs.

Aim:

The mission of EuroNHID is to prepare and support referral centres for providing appropriate infection control measures and strategies for HCWs' safety during coordinated and effective care to patients in case of emergencies deriving from naturally emerging or deliberately released agents of HIDs, as well as in the care of sporadic or imported cases.

The specific objectives of the project will be reached through the following steps:

1. Development of specifically designed checklists in order to assess hospital capabilities. The checklists will explore hospital resources, hospital infection control procedures, and HCWs safety policies.
2. Collection of data, using the checklists, through a survey. Only referral centres for HIDs will be surveyed.
3. Performance of a comparative review of national capabilities and practices in the management and control of HID, in order to identify lessons that might be learned, and to perform a spotting of critical points.
4. Development of a final report based on experiences acquired during the project, which should represent a practical guide for handling different aspects in the management of highly infectious diseases in hospital settings.

Expected results:

1. Development of consensus checklists as a standard and shared tool for the appropriate assessment of infection control and HCWs' safety policies.
2. Performance of a complete, on-the-field survey that will provide greater knowledge on:
• capabilities for infection control in referral centres in Europe,
• planned strategies of surge capacity, if existing, regarding both structures and personnel,
• skilled workforce in referral centres in Europe,
• policies of evaluation of knowledge and attitude of HCWs working in referral centres,
• policies for HCWs' safety, such as surveillance, policies of vaccination and prophylaxis, post-exposure management;
3. Evaluation of the results and their dissemination to project participants. This approach will improve the common know-how and represent a support for participants to highlight problems that emerged during the survey, to identify aspects that require strengthening, altering or accelerating, and to identify solutions.
4. Production of a final report focused on the safe management of HIDs.

Potential applications:

agreement with centre administrator authorisation, the survey results will be made available for use to national authorities, and public health and other professionals in EU Member States and elsewhere. The checklists, survey results and final report will made available on the Web and in EU bulletins (e.g. Eurosurveillance), and will allow other centres in Europe to assess their own situations and implement either technical improvements or procedural innovations, eventually adding their experience and solutions to the common know-how.

The report could be used by health authorities and hospital administrators for the implementation and update of country hospital capability. This process should encourage health authorities in planning local initiatives devoted to:

1. building improvements in the area of infection control and HCW safety;
2. improving operational capacity and arrangements that were underdeveloped;
3. making the plans truly functional, and aligned with existing EU benchmarks and standards, as well as harmonised and consistent with EU Community policy.

Coordinator:

Partners: