The overarching aim of this study is to develop and pilot a tool that can be used to estimate the key cost implications of resources used during hospital outbreaks in Ireland. 

Outbreaks of diseases within hospitals are an ongoing challenge for the healthcare system: they can cause longer hospitalisation, prolonged illness, and sometimes death for infected individuals. Some outbreaks involve infections caused by antimicrobial-resistant microorganisms, meaning bacteria and viruses that have developed the ability to survive treatment with medicines that are meant to kill them. These outbreaks can be associated with even longer hospital stays, high resource use, and a significant impact on the welfare and finances of patients and their families. 

This protocol sets out the steps planned for a mixed-methods research study to guide the development of an outbreak costing tool for use in Irish acute hospitals. The planned work will include scoping meetings, a systematic review, a development process, and piloting. The final costing tool will enable hospitals to collect a core dataset that can be used to estimate the key cost implications of resources used during outbreaks from a public healthcare perspective.