The TAP Strategy Learning Collaborative
Data-Driven Technical AssistanceAbout the TAP Strategy
In response to rising rates of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Telligen HQIC team incorporated the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s Targeted Assessment for Prevention (TAP) Strategy as a key program intervention. The TAP Strategy was designed to identify healthcare facilities and units with the greatest opportunity to reduce their rate of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs). The TAP Strategy primarily focuses on reducing catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI), clostridioides difficile infection (CDI), and central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI).
Following identification of an opportunity for improvement, the TAP Strategy provides tools for assessment of the facility’s infection prevention policies and practices. The final stage of the TAP Strategy provides facilities with tailored interventions to address policy gaps and achieve HAI reduction goals. The TAP Strategy toolkit developed by the CDC provides step-by-step guidance for implementation along with additional resources including a “deep dive” assessment designed specifically for infection preventionists.
Learn more and access the CDC’s TAP Strategy tools.
Telligen HQIC Leverages the TAP Strategy for All Hospital Types
The Telligen HQIC program primarily supports small, rural and critical access hospitals. For some hospitals, participation in the HQIC program was the first time they engaged with the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) for HAI reporting and data analysis.
Supporting hospitals to report their data to NHSN so that it could be used to generate a TAP Report was the first step in using the TAP Strategy for HAI prevention. Next, the Telligen team collaborated with the CDC to deliver customized NHSN and TAP Strategy education for small, rural and critical access hospitals.
The TAP Strategy Learning Collaborative was a four-part learning series that featured step-by-step instructions and personalized technical assistance to use the TAP Strategy. Participating hospitals could determine their level of engagement; some participants attended for introductory content while others completed focused quality improvement (QI) projects for specific HAIs (CDI, CAUTI or CLABSI). The collaborative supported hospitals in:
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- Using data for action and identifying units that may benefit from targeted HAI prevention efforts
- Assessing for gaps in infection prevention practices within identified locations using standardized TAP Assessments
- Learning about interventions and strategies to address gaps and prevent infections
75% of poll respondents indicated the TAP Strategy Learning Collaborative content “exceeded expectations”
Data-Driven Technical Assistance
Throughout the HQIC program, TAP Strategy tools were used to provide personalized, data-driven technical assistance to several hospitals. Although many facilities in Telligen’s HQIC network cannot generate a standardized infection ratio (SIR),* the cumulative attributable difference (CAD) in the TAP Reports can be used to alert these hospitals to excess infections. The analysis received by each hospital who generated a TAP Report allowed them to set a tangible HAI reduction goal, no matter how big or small. TAP Assessments supported hospitals in understanding the gaps in their policies so that they could make efficient and effective changes to their policies.
Read how one small hospital set a big goal using the TAP Strategy tools.
*SIR is calculated by dividing the number of observed infections by the number of predicted infections. CAD is the number of infections that must be prevented to achieve an HAI reduction goal. In addition, the standardized utilization ratio (SUR) can alert hospitals to increases in device utilization.
Watch the TAP Strategy Series
TAP Strategy for Reducing Hospital Acquired Infections Learning Collaborative