Purpose
CDC is committed to investing in ongoing research to prevent and eliminate HAIs.
Why it's important
Patients treated in healthcare settings can get HAIs, which cause sickness and death and add billions of dollars to healthcare costs each year. Research has been done to improve our understanding of HAIs, how to prevent certain HAIs, and to develop prevention guidelines. However, these prevention practices cannot prevent all HAIs, even when fully implemented. Further research is needed. Together with public health and healthcare partners, CDC is working to bring increased attention to safe healthcare and the prevention of HAIs and antimicrobial resistance.