GCU Public Health Clostridium Difficile Infection Discussion

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Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is the result of the intestinal presence of the gram-positive spore producing anaerobic bacillus that easily spread to an affected persons surroundings (Bowling, 2018). CDI symptoms include diarrhea, hematochezia, abdominal cramping, fever, loss of appetite, and nausea which can lead to dehydration, sepsis, and death (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2021); Yu et al., (2016), researchers found the financial burden of CDI in the United States to be in the range of eight hundred billion dollars and is attributed to nearly six thousand deaths. 

It is the intent of this dissertation, through the use of a literary review to identify populations at risk for CDI and means of mitigation. The proposed intervention selected to address this public health matter focuses on the education of front-line medical staff as a measure of preventing and reducing the occurrence of CDI in the long-term healthcare setting specifically, the Laguna-Honda Hospital a seven hundred and eight bed long-term healthcare facility located on sixty-two acres in the City of San Francisco proper operated by the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH). 

The intervention will be managed in cooperation with facility key stakeholders and a newly appointed program manager/data analysis (through grant funding) responsible for the completion of a pre and post intervention assessment with staff as a process of determining program outcomes. The request for grant funding is meant as a short-term supplement with the Laguna Honda Hospital with funding from the City and County of San Francisco absorbing the program in its entirety after twelve months. 

References:

Bowling, J. (2018, March 22). Clostridium difficile infection and Pseudomembranous colitis. Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology. https://text.apic.org/toc/healthcare-associated-pathogens-and-diseases/clostridium-difficile-infection-and-pseudomembranous-colitis

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2021, May 7). Could you or your loved one have C. diff? https://www.cdc.gov/cdiff/what-is.html

Yu, H., Baser, O., & Wang, L. (2016). Burden of clostridium difficile-associated disease among patients residing in nursing homes: A population-based cohort study. BMC Geriatrics, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-016-0367-2