Use of Copper-Infused Surfaces Reduces Clostridioides difficile Spores

AHRQ Stats: Insurance Types Associated With Transportation Issues

In 2021, 7.9 percent of adults on Medicare and 20.4 percent of adults on Medicaid faced challenges with daily living due to unreliable transportation. By comparison, just 3.4 percent of adults using private insurance reported similar issues. (Source: AHRQ Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Statistical Brief #558, Lack of Reliable Transportation for Daily Living Among Adults: United States, 2021.)

Today's Headlines:

• Use of Copper-Infused Surfaces Reduces Clostridioides difficile Spores.
• Highlights From AHRQ’s Patient Safety Network.
• Number of Short Interpregnancy Interval Births Remained Stable From 2016 to 2022.
• Register Now for Upcoming AHRQ Webinars.
• New Research and Evidence From AHRQ.
• AHRQ in the Professional Literature.

Use of Copper-Infused Surfaces Reduces Clostridioides difficile Spores

An AHRQ-funded study published in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology found that the use of copper-infused antimicrobial surfaces reduces Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) spores and may help control the transmission of this important healthcare-associated infection. Elimination of C. difficile spores is difficult because they are resistant to common hospital-grade disinfectants. Researchers tested copper-infused surfaces that were molded to bedrails and patient tray tables. Different dilutions of C.diff spores and soiled solutions to simulate organic material were used. Spore reduction after four hours of exposure was recorded. For the average initial spore burden, unsoiled copper-infused surfaces reduced C. diff spores by 97.3 percent and 96.8 percent for bedrail and table samples, respectively. Soiled bedrail and table samples showed a spore reduction of 91.8 percent and 91.7 percent, respectively. Access the abstract.

Highlights From AHRQ’s Patient Safety Network

AHRQ’s Patient Safety Network (PSNet) highlights journal articles, books and tools related to patient safety. Articles featured this week include:

• Diagnostic safety: needs assessment and informed curriculum at an academic children's hospital.
• Instruments for patient safety assessment: a scoping review.
• Failure to rescue female patients undergoing high-risk surgery.

Review additional new publications in PSNet’s current issue, including recent cases and commentaries and AHRQ’s WebM&M (Morbidity and Mortality Rounds on the Web).

Number of Short Interpregnancy Interval Births Remained Stable From 2016 to 2022

The number of “short interpregnancy interval births”—the period between a live birth and conception of the next pregnancy­—remained stable between 2016 and 2022, according to an AHRQ-funded study published in Obstetrics & Gynecology. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that women wait more than 6 months after a live birth before getting pregnant to prevent adverse outcomes such as preterm birth and infant mortality. Researchers examined the data of 14,770,411 single live births to individuals with at least one prior live birth and found that nearly 30 percent had a period of less than 8 months, 5 percent had less than 6 months, and 11 percent had a gap lasting 6 to 11 months between the first birth and the next pregnancy. Researchers hypothesized that improvements in postpartum contraceptive access may help reduce the prevalence of short interpregnancy intervals. Access the abstract.

Register Now for Upcoming AHRQ Webinars

• March 6, 2 to 3:15 p.m. ET: The Role of Primary Care in Maternal Health: Factors That Impact the Perinatal Care Experience and Outcomes, sponsored by AHRQ’s National Center for Excellence in Primary Care Research, will highlight research on delivering respectful maternity care, insurance disruptions on maternal healthcare and postpartum primary care coordination for people with multiple chronic conditions.
• March 10, 2:30 to 3 p.m. ET: AHRQ Safety Program for HAI Prevention: CLABSI Informational Webinar will encourage hospitals to join a training program designed to implement recently updated evidence-based infection prevention toolkits and decrease healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in intensive care units (ICUs) and non-ICUs. The program builds on AHRQ’s pioneering work using Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program (CUSP) methods to reduce common HAIs. Learn more, including how to register for this and additional informational webinars scheduled later in in 2025.
• March 12 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. ET: AHRQ Quality Indicators Listening Session will offer an opportunity for hospitals, health systems, accountable care organizations, health and hospital associations, health plans, health departments and federal entities to provide feedback on AHRQ’s Quality Indicators The event will cover topics including organizational use and value, measure selection and enhancement, software features and technical support, and recommendations for the future.
• March 18, 2:30 to 4 p.m. ET: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools To Improve Provider Effectiveness and Patient Outcomes will cover AI’s potential to enhance clinician productivity, improve quality of care and increase patients’ engagement in their own care. Expert panelists will discuss their own research on leveraging AI tools to improve provider effectiveness and patient outcomes in clinical settings. Continuing education/continuing medical education credits will be available to attendees of this event sponsored by AHRQ’s Digital Healthcare Research Program.

New Research and Evidence From AHRQ

• Systematic Review: Association of Digestible Carbohydrate Intake With Cardiovascular Disease, Type 2 Diabetes, Obesity, and Body Composition.
• Systematic Review: Mental Health and Occupational Stress in the Emergency Medical Services and 911 Workforces.

AHRQ in the Professional Literature

Identification of postpartum symptom informedness and preparedness typologies and their associations with psychological health: a latent class analysis. Scroggins JK, Bruce KE, Stuebe AM, et al. Midwifery 2024 Oct;137:104115. Epub 2024 Jul 24. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

FAIRS - A Framework for Evaluating the Inclusion of Sex in Clinical Algorithms. Goodman KE, Blumenthal-Barby J, Redberg RF, et al. N Engl J Med 2025 Jan 23;392(4):404-11. Epub 2025 Jan 8. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

A unified approach to health data exchange: a report from the US DHHS. Abbasi AB, Layden J, Gordon W, et al. JAMA 2025 Jan 18. [Epub ahead of print.] Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Occupational therapists enhance comprehensive health assessments for children in foster care. Fortin K, Egbe T, Briskin N, et al. Phys Occup Ther Pediatr 2025 Jan 2:1-12. [Epub ahead of print.] Access the abstract on PubMed®.

High-intensity home-based rehabilitation in a Medicare accountable care organization. Johnson JK, Rothberg MB, Dalton JE, et al. Am J Manag Care 2025 Jan;31(1):12-8. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Implementation of patient-reported outcome dashboards within the electronic health record to support shared decision-making in serious chronic illness. Perry LM, Mohindra NA, Coughlin A, et al. BMJ Open Qual 2025 Jan 11;14(1). Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Estimating financial and health burden by initial Medicare plan choice and history of cancer. Jazowski SA, Achola EM, Nicholas LH, et al. Health Aff Sch 2025 Jan 21;3(1):qxaf001. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Application of a digital quality measure for cancer diagnosis in Epic Cosmos. Zimolzak AJ, Khan SP, Singh H, et al. J Am Med Inform Assoc 2025 Jan;32(1):227-9. Access the abstract on PubMed®.