Slovenska nacionalna presečna raziskava bolnišničnih okužb (Slovene)

Slovenian national survey of hospital acquired infections (SNSHAI) was part of the cross-sectional study of health care associated infections and antimicrobial use in European acute care hospitals that was coordinated by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Slovenian research group at the National Institute of Public Health (NIPH) with two members from the University Medical Centre (UMC) Ljubljana and UMC Maribor cooperated in the preparation of the joint ECDC protocol and the development of the European standard methodology for hospital acquired infections and antimicrobial use data collection in member states of the European Union. Methodologically appropriate data collection method using repeated cross-sectional surveys was developed. This contributed to the development and improvement of national surveillance systems and research in the area of health care associated infections and antimicrobial use in numerous EU member states, including in Slovenia. The Slovenian results represent the estimate of the national burden of hospital acquired infections and describe the use of antimicrobials in all Slovenian acute care hospitals on a day in 2011. As we used standardised methods for data collection, our results will be relatively well comparable with the results of other European countries. The results of the Slovenian and European survey will contribute to the development of evidence based public health policies and strategies in the area of health care quality assurance as well as prevention and control of hospital acquired infections in Slovenia and Europe.

The goals and objectives of the Slovenian National Survey of Hospital Acquired Infections and expected results are in line with the national developmental policies and health promotion for sustainable development of Slovenia. The results will contribute to the development of evidence based public health policies and strategies in the field of quality in health care and prevention and control of health-care associated infections and prudent use of antimicrobials in Slovenia and EU. Thus, they will contribute to the improvement of health as the key element of social and economic development. Added value is the incorporation of our study into the cross-sectional study of health care associated infections and antimicrobial use in European acute care hospitals that was coordinated by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).