World Health Organization (WHO) published Core Competencies of Infection Prevention and Control Practitioners in 2020. This WHO document is a very useful guide for implementing the core competencies among infection prevention and control professionals (IPCPs). It is useful for standardisation of the competencies in the field of infection control through relevant formal training, practicum and assessment. This paper explains the framework of the WHO-list of core competencies in relation to the role and responsibilities of IPCPs. The value of introducing core competencies to IPCPs is really vital in the recognition of infection prevention and control as a medical specialty field. The IPCPs core competencies is also an essential guide for practitioners to advance in their professional and career development from novice to expert in the infection prevention and control field.
Wuhan Leishenshan Hospital was built within 12 days during the key period of fighting against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Wuhan. It was a field infectious disease hospital with 1500 beds. Due to the emergency of the epidemic situation, the operation mode of “parallel of construction, acceptance, training and treatment” was employed. During the peak period, nearly 3000 medical workers and 13000 builders worked on the same site. In 67 days, 2 011 patients with COVID-19 were treated. Through the bundle infection prevention and control (IPC) measures, Wuhan Leishenshan Hospital achieved zero infection, zero accident, and low level pollution of SARS-CoV-2 (0.3%) by environment monitoring. The bundle IPC measures of Leishenshan Hospital not only provided prevention and control experience for other field infectious disease hospitals at domestic and abroad during the period of COVID-19, but also put forward ideas and work flow for other medical institutions to deal with emerging infectious diseases.
Based on the national 2020 and 2022 versions of Accreditation Standards for Tertiary Hospital, the Hospitals Accreditation Office of the Sichuan Provincial Health Commission organized to develop Implementation Rules for the Accreditation Standards for Tertiary Comprehensive Hospitals in Sichuan Province (2023 Edition). In order to guide the evaluated hospitals to comprehensively understand and master the content of hospital infection prevention and control (IPC), this article interprets the main evaluation points and scoring methods of hospital infection management in the detailed rules, emphasizes on organizational management, system implementation, monitoring/supervision, and connotation improvement for IPC. The purpose is to make the evaluated hospitals attach importance to the standardized implementation of daily work of IPC, focus on the routine, objective, and quantitative approach to accreditation work, and continuously achieve the effect of quality improvement in IPC.
Objective To evaluate the current status of human resources in healthcare-associated infection prevention and control (infection control) in Jiangxi Province, and explore the impact of emergency public health events on the human resources of infection control professionals in various levels and types of medical institutions. Methods From October 1st to 31st, 2023, questionnaire and on-site interviews were conducted to investigate the human resources situation of infection control professionals in various levels and types of medical institutions in Jiangxi Province. Three stages were selected for the investigation: before the outbreak of COVID-19 (before the event, December 2019), during the event (June 2022), and after the transition of COVID-19 (after the event, June 2023), focusing on the characteristics of human resources between before the event and after the event by the comparative analysis. Results Finally, 289 medical institutions were included. There was a statistically significant difference in the number of infection control professionals in medical institutions among 2019, 2022, and 2023 (χ2=189.677, P<0.001). The number of infection control professionals in 2019 was lower than that in 2022 (P<0.001) and 2023 (P<0.001), but there was no statistically significant difference between 2022 and 2023 (P=0.242). The number of infection control professionals per thousand beds in 2019, 2022, and 2023 was 4.40, 6.16, and 5.76, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between 2019 and 2023 in terms of professional titles, gender, educational level, or professional background (P>0.05). Conclusion Emergency public health events have promoted the increase in the number of infection control professionals, but there is no statistical significance in the professional titles, educational level, or professional background of infection control professionals.
Objective To understand the influence of organisational support and professional identity of hospital infection prevention and control (HIPC) practitioner in public hospitals. Methods HIPC practitioner of the public medical institutions secondary level and above in Neijiang City, Sichuan Province were used as the research object. A questionnaire survey was used to analyze their organizational support and professional identity in May 2022, to compare the differences in organizational support and professional identity among HIPC practitioner with different positions, working ages, and majors, and analyze the correlation between organizational support and professional identity among HIPC practitioner. Results A total of 90 valid questionnaires were retrieved from investigation. The average scores for organizational support and professional identity among HIPC practitioner were (3.409±0.625) and (2.518±0.504) points. Among them, the organizational support of intermediate professional title personnel [(3.155±0.785) points], personnel with 5-10 years of service [(3.071±0.696) points], and clinical physicians [(3.342±0.860) points] were the lowest; the professional identity of personnel with intermediate professional titles [(2.357±0.477) points], those with more than 10 years of service[(2.431±0.454) points], and other professionals [(2.471±0.260) points] were the lowest. The Pearson correlation analysis results showed that there was a positive correlation between organizational support and professional identity (r=0.490, P<0.05), self-identity and work support (r=0.364, P<0.05), and environmental identity and relationship interests (r=0.698, P<0.05). Conclusions Due to the low level of organizational support, there is a decrease in professional identity and significant job burnout, which in turn leads to an increase in the turnover rate of infection control professionals. Therefore, it is necessary to enhance the sense of organizational support for specialized personnel in infection control to promote their professional identity and stabilize the infection control team. Suggest providing necessary support at the organizational level and self-improvement at the individual level.
Objective To investigate the current status of occupational environment support, occupational satisfaction, and job competence of hospital infection prevention and control personnel, and to explore the mediating effect of occupational satisfaction on the relationship between occupational environment support and job competence, in order to provide reference and guidance for effectively improving the job competence of hospital infection prevention and control personnel. Methods A survey questionnaire was distributed to various levels and types of medical institutions in Shanghai through the platform of the Shanghai Hospital Infection Quality Control Center. The questionnaire included the Occupational Environment Support Scale, Occupational Satisfaction Scale, and Job Competency Assessment Scale. The mediating effect of occupational satisfaction on the relationship between occupational environment support and job competency of hospital infection prevention and control personnel was analyzed. Results A total of 1027 hospital infection prevention and control personnel from 728 medical institutions participated in this survey, with 989 valid questionnaires and an effective response rate of 96.3%. There were statistically significant differences in the job competency scores of hospital infection prevention and control personnel based on gender, years of experience in infection control work, professional background, highest education level, professional title, job nature, type of medical institution, and annual income (P<0.05). The total score of job competence for hospital infection prevention and control personnel was 301.0 (267.5, 326.0), the total score of occupational environment support was 21.44±3.66, and the total score of occupational satisfaction was 19.25±2.78. The occupational environment support of hospital infection prevention and control personnel was positively correlated with occupational satisfaction and job competence (r=0.373, 0.339; P<0.001), and occupational satisfaction was positively correlated with occupational environment support (r=0.547, P<0.001). The mediating effect of job satisfaction on the occupational environment support and job competence was 0.085, accounting for 22.8% of the total effect. Conclusion Occupational satisfaction partially mediates the relationship between occupational environment support and job competence, and the mediating effect is significant.
Currently, there is a lack of guidelines and consensuses on hospital infection prevention and control for continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) at home and aboard. Given that in-hospital infection control for CRRT differs from that for intermittent hemodialysis, the Nephrology Brunch of Sichuan International Medical Exchange & Promotion Association, in collaboration with West China Hospital of Sichuan University, has established an expert consensus group for CRRT hospital infection prevention and control. The group conducted systematic retrieval, data analysis, and expert consultation on the thematic content, and developed five topics: occupational protection for CRRT healthcare personnel, CRRT catheter-related infections, collection of CRRT blood/waste specimens, disinfection of CRRT machines, and utilization and disposal of CRRT consumables and waste. The aim is to standardize clinical practices, prevent nosocomial infections, and enhance awareness among healthcare personnel regarding infection prevention and control in CRRT settings.
Healthcare-associated infections pose a significant challenge to healthcare institutions, severely threatening healthcare quality and patient safety. To enhance the quality of infection prevention and control across healthcare facilities at all levels, promote standardization, and drive continuous quality improvement, quality control centers for infection prevention and control have been established nationwide and have played a crucial role. This article conducts an in-depth analysis of the functions, current development status, and key challenges faced by these quality control centers throughout their evolution, aiming to provide insights for future advancements in quality control systems.
Objective To survey the current situation of the sharp injury in medical workers, and to provide scientific evidence for the prevention and protection of sharp injury. Methods Through applying the questionnaire of sharp injuries designed by Zhongshan Hospital, Shanghai Fudan University, 10% of the workers in all departments of West China Hospital of Sichuan University were selected as respondents according to their job categories. The main contents of the survey included the general information of respondents, reporting after sharp injuries, training participation, and the exposure sources, operations, premises and equipments related to sharp injuries over the past one year.Results Of 840 questionnaires distributed, 100% were valid. The ratio of male was 23% while the female was 72%. There were 50.20% of all respondents who once got injured, and 75% of the respondents having the history of sharp injury worked less than 10 years. The nurses, house keepers and physicians were in the top three positions of suffering from sharp injury; and the operating room was ranked as the highest risk department for sharp injuries. The known haematogenous exposure sources were 69 cases of hepatitis B, 19 syphilis, 6 hepatitis C, and 3 HIV. There were 62% of the respondents who had ever attended related training, and only 11.61% of the injured respondents reported their sharp injuries. Conclusion The incidence rate of the sharp injury is high, but the report rate is low. The operating room is the high risk department, and nurses, house keepers, and physicians are the high risk population for sharp injuries. The prevention and protection and training for sharp injury in target departments and population should be strengthened.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is one of the important pathogens of healthcare-associated infections. In order to prevent and control the transmission of the drug-resistant organism in healthcare facilities, the Healthcare Infection Society and the Infection Prevention Society jointly conducted the guidelines for the prevention and control of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in 2021. This article introduces the guide from the background, preparation process, main prevention and control measures and further studies, and compares the guidelines with the current prevention and control measures in China, so as to provide a methodological reference for preparation of the guide for domestic infection prevention and control practitioners, and provide evidence-based prevention and control strategies for clinical practice.
