Policy Manual sample

MDT Home Health Care Agency, Inc. PROCESS FOR INVESTIGATING OUTBREAKS OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES What is an outbreak? According to the CDC, an “outbreak” is the occurrence of more cases of disease than normally expected within a specific place or group of people over a given period of time. An “outbreak” and an “epidemic” essentially mean the same thing to an epidemiologist, but the term “epidemic” has a more serious connotation than “outbreak” and is used less frequently to avoid the perception of a crisis situation. Why is it important to investigate outbreaks? Investigation of outbreaks is necessary to understand and ultimately control and prevent the spread of diseases. By understanding how certain diseases are transmitted and studying trends of diseases, epidemiologists can use collected information to identify sources of infections and make recommendations for stopping their spread. Investigation of outbreaks is particularly important when the disease in question is particularly severe or has high rates of transmission. What steps are needed in an outbreak investigation? The CDC has provided a list of 10 steps used for investigating outbreaks, to optimize the speed and accuracy of outbreak investigations in order to ensure the safety and health of the population. 1. Prepare for field work. Investigators should be familiar with the disease and have a plan of action which includes lists of supplies, division of tasks among team members, and administrative and travel arrangements. 2. Establish the existence of an outbreak. An outbreak is defined as the occurrence of more cases of disease than normally expected within a specific place or group of people over a given period of time. To establish that an outbreak is real (that is, more cases than expected), an investigator can examine health department surveillance records, hospital records, and other disease registries. If this information is unavailable, other options include interviews with doctors or people within the community. 3. Verify the diagnosis. An investigator will need to review clinical findings and lab tests in order to verify the diagnosis, as well as determine the specific nature of the disease. For example, in infectious disease outbreaks, additional lab tests may be necessary to determine the specific strain of microbe implicated in the outbreak. 4. Define and identify cases. The investigator is responsible for establishing what constitutes a case. A case definition will usually include information about the disease, characteristics of the patients, information about the location, and a specific range in time. By doing so, investigators can eliminate an excess of false-positives. To identify cases, it is important to have open communication with personnel from healthcare facilities and other relevant facilities or people who will be on the radar for observing potential cases. 5. Describe and orient the data in terms of time, place, and person. An investigator will understand more about the outbreak by compiling a comprehensive description of its trends over time, place, and kinds of people (age, race, sex, etc.) affected by the disease. 6. Develop hypotheses. The hypothesis is an educated guess about the source of the disease, mode of transmission, and/or exposures that caused the disease, based on available information. 7. Evaluate hypotheses. The credibility of the hypotheses can be evaluated by looking at the facts or by crunching numbers to get actual statistics on available information. Home Health Agency Nursing Care & Procedures K-160