Infections associated with health care delivery in any health care setting (formerly known as nosocomial infections) are known as what?

• A. Community-acquired infections
• B. Nosocomial infections
• C. Healthcare-related infections
• D. Health care-associated infections (HAIs)

Answer: (D)

Infections acquired during the course of receiving health care in any setting are called health care-associated infections. This term covers infections that patients pick up while being treated, whether in a hospital, clinic, long-term care facility, or other health care environments. It distinguishes those from infections brought in from the community (community-acquired).

Historically these were called nosocomial infections, but the modern, inclusive term is health care-associated infections because it recognizes that care occurs outside just hospitals. The other options don’t fit as neatly: infections acquired outside the health care setting are community-acquired, and while “healthcare-related infections” might be understood, it isn’t the standard epidemiologic term. Health care-associated infections is the widely accepted wording.