Implementing and Monitoring Infection Control Policies and Procedures

Infection Control

• Infection control prevents or stops the spread of infections in healthcare settings.
• Germs are a part of everyday life and are found in air, soil, water, and in and on our bodies.
• Only a small portion of germs are known to cause infection.

How Infections Occur

• An infection occurs when germs enter the body, increase in number, and cause a reaction of the body.
• Three things are necessary for an infection to occur:
  • Source: places where infectious agents live (e.g. sinks, surfaces, human skin).
  • Susceptible person: with a way for germs to enter the body.
  • Transmission: a way germs are moved to the susceptible person.

Chain of Infections

• The chain of infection is the process by which a pathogen spreads from one host to the next.
• The six links in the chain of infection are:
  • Infectious agent (pathogen): agents that can cause infection or an infectious disease (e.g. bacteria, viruses, parasites).
  • Reservoir: where germs live (e.g. people, animals, food, soil, water).
  • Portal of exit: how germs get out (e.g. mouth, cuts in the skin, stool and urine).
  • Mode of transmission: how germs are transmitted (e.g. direct contact, indirect contact, droplets).
  • Portal of entry: how germs get in (e.g. mouth, cuts in the skin, eyes).
  • Susceptible host: vulnerable or immunocompromised person (e.g. babies, children, elderly, etc.).

Standard Precautions for All Patient Care

• Standard precautions are based on a risk assessment and make use of common sense practices and personal protective equipment use.
• Hand hygiene is a simple yet effective way to prevent infections.
• Hand washing for 20 seconds is an effective way to prevent infection.
• On average, healthcare providers clean their hands less than half of the times they should.

Standard Precautions for Healthcare Workers

• Perform hand hygiene.
• Use personal protective equipment (PPE).
• Follow respiratory hygiene/cough etiquette.
• Ensure appropriate patient placement.
• Properly handle and properly clean and disinfect patient care equipment and instruments/devices.
• Ensure health worker safety, including proper handling of needles and other sharps.

Transmission-Based Precautions

• Transmission-based precautions are the second tier of basic infection control.
• They are used in addition to standard precautions for patients who may be infected or colonized with certain infectious agents.
• They prevent infection transmission and are used for patients who may be infected or colonized with certain infectious agents.