Background: Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) are the most frequent adverse events in the healthcare setting and their prevention is an important contribution to patient safety in hospitals.
Objectives: To analyse to what extent safety cultural aspects with relevance to infection control are implemented in German hospitals.
Methods: Safety cultural aspects of infection control were surveyed with an online questionnaire; data were analysed descriptively.
Results: Data from 543 hospitals with a median of [IQR] 275 [157; 453] beds were analysed. Almost all hospitals (96.6 %) had internal guidelines for infection control (IC) in place; 82 % defined IC objectives, most often regarding hand hygiene (HH) (93 %) and multidrug resistant organisms (72 %) and less frequently for antibiotic stewardship (48 %) or prevention of specific HAI. In 94 % of hospitals, a reporting system for adverse events was in place, which was also used to report low compliance with HH, outbreaks and Clostridium difficile-associated infections. Members of the IC team were most often seen to hold daily responsibility for IC in the hospital, but rarely other hospital staff (94 versus 19 %).
Conclusions: Safety cultural aspects are not fully implemented in German hospitals. IC should be more strongly implemented in healthcare workers' daily routine and more visibly supported by hospital management.
Keywords: Hygiene; Nosocomial infections; Organisational culture; Patient safety; Prevention.