Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Lecture Sheet

Prepared by-
Amit Halder
(Student Nurse)
Introduction
Infection prevention and control (IPC) is an applied discipline that affects all
patient care activities in healthcare settings. IPC, including prevention of
antimicrobial resistance (AMR), is an essential component of healthcare
quality and patient safety. In this module you will learn basics of infection
prevention and control, and how it reduces risk and spread of infection.

 Definition of Infection Prevention and Control

Infection prevention and control (IPC) is a practical, evidence-based

approach which prevents patients and health workers from being harmed by
avoidable infection and as a result of antimicrobial resistance (World Health
Organization, n.d.).

 Healthcare Associated Infections (HAIs) and IPC

Healthcare-associated Infections (HAIs) are infections that occur during the

process of care that were not present or incubating at the time of admission.

 Risk and cause of HAIs:

Vulnerable patients, such as those in intensive care units and those with
invasive devices, are at a higher risk of developing a healthcare associated
infection. HAIs contribute to increased morbidity and mortality, length of
stay, and healthcare costs.

Modern healthcare uses many types of invasive devices and procedures to

treat patients and help them recover. Infections can be associated with the
devices used in medical procedures, such as catheters and ventilators. These
HAIs include central line-associated bloodstream infections, catheter-
associated urinary tract infections, and ventilator-associated pneumonia.
Surgical site infections can also occur.

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An effective IPC program at a healthcare facility is essential for preventing
and reducing HAIs and antibiotic resistance, and in preparing for, managing,
and preventing infectious disease outbreaks.

 How Infections are Transmitted?

To reduce the risk of harmful microorganisms, you must understand how

different healthcare associated infections (HAIs) can spread.
Microorganisms are found in air, soil, water, and in our bodies. Some
microorganisms are helpful, others can be harmful and cause infections.

The diagram below represents the chain of infection. For an infection to

spread, all steps in the chain must occur. The key to stopping the spread of
infection is to break at least one link in the chain.

Figure 01: Chain of Infection

Understanding the chain of infections, infectious agents, reservoirs, modes

of transmission, portals of entry and exit, and susceptible hosts enables us to
develop Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) measures to break the chain
of infection (Infection Prevention and Control, n.d.).

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 Standard and Transmission Based Precautions

You learned that the role of IPC is to break the chain of infection. Standard
and Transmission-Based Precautions are core IPC practices that healthcare
personnel use to reduce transmission of microorganisms in all healthcare
settings.

Standard Precautions aim to protect both healthcare personnel

(HCP) and patients from infectious agents, they are required in all healthcare
settings. Standard Precautions are recommended for care of all patients in
any healthcare setting, regardless of their suspected or confirmed diagnosis.

Standard precautions include:

 Hand Hygiene;
 Environmental Cleaning;
 Injection and Medication Safety;
 Risk assessment with appropriate use of personal protective
equipment (PPE);
 Reprocessing of Reusable Medical Equipment;
 Waste management;
 Respiratory hygiene/cough etiquette.

Transmission-Based Precautions are used in addition to Standard

Precautions for patients who are suspected or confirmed to be infected or
colonized with certain pathogens for which the mode of transmission is
known. Transmission-based Precautions include:

 Contact  Droplet
 Airborne, etc.

The type of precaution assigned to a patient will depend on the mode of

transmission of the suspected or confirmed pathogen (Infection Prevention
and Control, n.d.). You will learn more about standard & transmission-
Based Precautions in the next lesson.

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References

World Health Organization. (n.d.). Infection Prevention and Control. Retrieved from
https://www.who.int/teams/integrated-health-services/infection-prevention-control

Infection Prevention and Control. (n.d.). Welcome to Infection Prevention and Control
(IPC) Training Package. Retrieved from https://depts.washington.edu/edgh/app-
ipc/web/index.html

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