 in order to maximize learning from outbreaks public health and providers should use standardized variables which variables should be collected will vary by setting and outbreak this listing of healthcare associated infection hai outbreak standardized variables along with the associated redcap database are resources which state and local public health jurisdictions or health organizations can use when deciding what information is most appropriate to collect as part of an hai outbreak investigation existing standards and validated instruments were used to inform the development of these variables notes the outbreak standardized variables list document begins with a high level overview and contains field names types and other details along with implementation notes to access the redcap databse redcap users should upload the data dictionary excel file directly into a redcap project 