Sepsis epidemiology: a nationwide longitudinal investigation

Project description

The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (the Commission) has commenced a program of work to improve early recognition, treatment and outcomes for patients with sepsis in Australia. This project was commissioned as a first step, in the Commission’s work to develop a national approach to improving outcomes for patients with sepsis across Australia.

Project members

Associate Professor Ling Li Associate Professor

Dr Neroli Sunderland Research Fellow

Dr Kasun Rathnayake Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Professor Johanna Westbrook Professor

Project aims and methods

The aims of this project were to:

1. Determine the incidence and mortality of sepsis in public hospitals
2. Investigate variations in incidence and mortality related to patient and hospital stay characteristics
3. Investigate sepsis-related practice and initiatives across states/territories

A mixed methods approach was used to complete the study, including:

1. Epidemiological analysis of national inpatient data from all Australian public hospitals
2. Semi-structured interviews with clinicians, patient safety professionals and sepsis researchers from states and territories

Publication

Li L, Sunderland N, Rathnayake K, Westbrook JI. Epidemiology of Sepsis in Australian Public Hospitals: A Mixed Methods, National Longitudinal Study (2013-2018). Sydney: Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC); 2020 (ISBN: 978-1-925948-68-4)

Link: https://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-05/epidemiology_of_sepsis_-_february_2020_002.pdf