The body of literature on contact precautions continues to grow.
Here is a recent publication in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology on the association between contact precautions and patient satisfaction.
The investigators used a standardized interview to identify perceived problems with care. After discharge, the standardized interview and Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey were administered by telephone. A total of 528 medical or surgical patients were interviewed.
Of the respondents 104 (20%) perceived some issue with their care. On multivariable logistic regression, contact precautions were independently associated with a greater number of perceived concerns with care (odds ratio, 2.05 [95% confidence interval, 1.31-3.21] including poor coordination of care and a lack of respect for patient needs and preferences Patients under contact precautions did not have different HCAHPS scores than those not under contact precautions.
Patients under contact precautions were more likely to perceive problems with their care, especially poor coordination of care and a lack of respect for patient preferences.
We need better data on how to best apply contact precautions and how to maximize the quality of care for patients in contact isolation.
