INFECÇÕES RELACIONADAS À ASSISTÊNCIA À SAÚDE: FATORES ASSOCIADOS E ESTRATÉGIAS DE PREVENÇÃO NO AMBIENTE HOSPITALAR

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.22533/at.ed.936122606034

• Palavras-chave: Infecção Hospitalar; Segurança do Paciente; Unidades Hospitalares.

• Keywords: Hospital Infection; Patient Safety; Hospital Units.

• Abstract: Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) constitute a significant public health problem, especially in the hospital setting, as they are associated with increased morbidity and mortality, length of stay, and healthcare costs, in addition to compromising the quality of care and patient safety. In this context, the present study aimed to analyze the factors associated with the occurrence of HAIs and the prevention strategies described in the scientific literature in the hospital setting. This is a scoping review, conducted according to the recommendations of the Joanna Briggs Institute and guided by the PRISMA-ScR checklist, with searches performed in the LILACS, MEDLINE/PubMed, and Scopus databases, using controlled descriptors combined with Boolean operators. The results showed that the occurrence of HAIs is related to intrinsic patient factors, such as advanced age, comorbidities, and immunosuppression, as well as extrinsic factors, including failures in hand hygiene, inadequate use of personal protective equipment, invasive procedures, indiscriminate use of antimicrobials, and organizational weaknesses, such as work overload and insufficient resources. The most prominent prevention strategies involved adequate hand hygiene, rational use of antimicrobials, adoption of safe care practices, epidemiological and continuing education of health professionals. It is concluded that a large part of HAIs is preventable through the systematic implementation of infection prevention and control actions, and strengthening care and organizational practices is fundamental to promoting patient safety and quality of health care.