Background: The Study of the Efficacy of Nosocomial Infection Control (SENIC) conducted in 1975-1976 is the gold standard for judging the resource needs of infection control departments; however, the scope of responsibilities of infection control and the patient populations served have changed dramatically over the last 30 years.
Objectives: The objective of this paper is to explore the state of the science for performance measurement of infection control departments.
Methods: A search of English language literature was conducted using the PubMed, Medline, and CINAHL databases. The terms "infection control" and "department" along with the words "performance," "measurement," "staffing," "effectiveness," and "requirements" were used to search for relevant articles. Reference lists of selected articles were also searched for other papers of interest.
Results: Twelve articles were deemed relevant to infection control department performance since the SENIC study. These fell into four main categories: time management studies, expert opinion, outcome studies, and reports about international infection control departments.
Conclusion: The SENIC study remains the most thorough assessment of the relationship between infection control department activities and patient outcomes. However, the scope of infection control practice has broadened, and the health care delivery system has changed dramatically since that study was performed. Few new studies have assessed infection control department performance and its relationship to patient outcomes, compliance with accepted standards of patient care, or cost of care. A current assessment of infection control department resources, functions and scope of responsibility linked to patient outcomes and cost is needed to give health care institutions a relevant benchmark for infection control resource needs and the return to be expected from that investment.