# Preventing MRSA infections: a virtual comparative effectiveness model

> **NIH VA I01** · VA SALT LAKE CITY HEALTHCARE SYSTEM · 2020 · —

## Abstract

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant):    
The goal of this study is to build a VISN-wide agent-based simulation model of MRSA transmission and control to compare the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of various MRSA control strategies. Our specific objectives are to: (a) extend an existing hospital-level MRSA  agent-based simulation model to include physician teams and behaviors, and expand into a  VISN-wide model that includes VA community living centers; (b) use the extended model to  compare the costs, impacts, and cost-effectiveness of MRSA infection control strategies, alone  or in combination, and to assess the impact of varying levels of provider team uptake behaviors  on strategy effectiveness; and (c) develop and disseminate a web-based version to be used by  decision-makers at local, VISN, and national levels when making clinical and economic  decisions about MRSA control strategies.  We will utilize existing systematic reviews, analyses of VA data, and findings including  ethnographic observations from our other CREATE Projects to establish estimates of the key  parameters needed for the model, such as: MRSA surveillance and prevalence data; duration,  nature and frequency of healthcare worker visits to patient rooms in acute care and in VA CLCs;  data on physician team attributes and behavioral measures and impact on patient outcomes;  and costs associated with MRSA infection and various intervention components. These results will be incorporated into the simulation, which will then be used to assess the various strategies and factors that impact MRSA transmission through a series of simulation experiments.  Traditional quantitative epidemiologic methods will be used to analyze simulation results, with a focus on MRSA incidence and transmission rates as outcomes. Dynamic cost-benefit analyses will be performed by projecting MRSA incidence rates and costs under the various alternative policies. The model will then be converted to a web-based version, with a simple, graphical interface, to be deployed via the VA intranet to provide real-time facility- or VISN-specific estimated benefits, costs, and cost-effectiveness of the various MRSA control strategies.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10165479
- **Project number:** 5I01HX001134-06
- **Recipient organization:** VA SALT LAKE CITY HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
- **Principal Investigator:** LUCI LEYKUM
- **Activity code:** I01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2015-04-01 → 2021-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10165479

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10165479, Preventing MRSA infections: a virtual comparative effectiveness model (5I01HX001134-06). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10165479. Licensed CC0.

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