What is the HAPPEN Trial and why is it needed?
Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are acquired as a direct or indirect result of healthcare. It’s important to remember that infections associated with healthcare are not inevitable, and prevention programmes have been successful at reducing the incidence of some HAIs. In Australia, an estimated 160,000 patients contract a HAI annually, which means that one in ten patients today have an infection acquired in the hospital. Hospital-associated pneumonia, known as HAP, is the most common type of HAI, accounting for approximately one third of these infections, with an estimated 50,000 patients affected each year in Australian public hospitals alone. HAP is associated with increased length of stay in the hospital, increased associated illness, mortality, and healthcare costs. Approximately 19% of patients with HAP require transfer into an intensive care unit (ICU), with a reported mortality rate of 18%. Patients with HAP are eight times more likely to die in the hospital than similar patients without HAP.
What will this research do?
Our study will:
- Evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of oral hygiene
- Develop educational resources and see how well these work
- Describe the patient’s experience of a having a HAP
- Understand the clinician’s experience of implementing the intervention
- Assess the impact of HAP on quality of life