Healthcare Associated Infections-Community Interface (HAIC)
Healthcare-associated Infections (HAIs) and Antimicrobial Use (AU) Prevalence Surveys are conducted at 10 Emerging Infections Program (EIP) sites in the United States. HAIs are an important public health problem because of their devastating effects on the wellbeing of patients, in addition to the billions of dollars in unnecessary expense they add to the healthcare system. Research suggests that a growing number of HAIs are caused by organisms that have developed resistance to standard antimicrobial drugs. Understanding AU in hospital and nursing home settings is an important part of identifying the connections between improper AU and development of HAIs. The purpose of the surveyis to examine the number and type of HAIs and AU in hospitals and nursing homes and to identify the reasons antimicrobial drugs are used in these settings. This information will help create policies and procedures to make