Measurement of the prevention policy in the hospital

Prevention policy is a legal obligation for French hospitals. As such, preventive clinical practices should therefore be assessed. Assess the results of the hospital prevention policy. A cross-sectional, stratified epidemiological survey, took place in 10 hospital wards of the university hospital of Clermont-Ferrand. The patients included had to be aged over 60 and leaving the hospital. The criteria for prevention assessment were surveillance of blood pressure and glycaemia, screening of viral serologies for people having had blood transfusion or major surgery, surveillance of weight, check of tetanus vaccination, check of influenza vaccination for people aged 65 and over, detection of prostatic disorders for men aged 70 and over, and detection of dementia in people aged 60 and over. 315 patients were examined during the 33 weeks study. The probable malnutrition rate was twice the obesity rate (10.7 vs 5.9%) but detection of obesity was better in the hospital. Tetanus vaccination rate decreased with age and was lower than influenza vaccination rate (59.5 vs 73.0%). Detection of prostatic disorders was only biological. The hospital prevention policy could be improved in terms of data collection and transmission of information to the GP's. We dispose of a tool for the measure of secondary prevention, independent of the treatment context, in the hospital. Measurements reveal wide gaps between norms and reality and would help to increase awareness among the health care providers.