title: Challenges of implementing national guidelines for the control and prevention of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus colonization or infection in acute care hospitals in the Republic of Ireland.
abstract: Of the 49 acute care hospitals in Ireland that responded to the survey questionnaire drafted by the Infection Control Subcommittee of the Health Protection Surveillance Centre's Strategy for the Control of Antimicrobial Resistance in Ireland, 43 reported barriers to the full implementation of national guidelines for the control and prevention of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection; these barriers included poor infrastructure (42 hospitals), inadequate laboratory resources (40 hospitals), inadequate staffing (39 hospitals), and inadequate numbers of isolation rooms and beds (40 hospitals). Four of the hospitals did not have an educational program on hand hygiene, and only 17 had an antibiotic stewardship program.
authors.affiliation: Health Protection Surveillance Centre, Dublin 1, Ireland. fidelma.fitzpatrick@hse.ie
authors.forename: Fidelma
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fitzpatrick
authors.forename: Fiona
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Roche
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cunney
authors.forename: Hilary
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Humphreys
mesh_terms: D003422:Critical Care; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000517:prevention & control*; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D007494:Ireland; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires