Nursing and infection control strategies

Health care associated infection continue to be a major cause of substantial patient morbidity and cost to the health services. It has been widely known for the last four decades, that the majority of healthcare-associated infections can be prevented by efficient infection control measures. A number of international initiatives are being undertaken to support developing countries for building and implementing infection control effectively in their health care settings. Despite these growing efforts, infection control in most developing countries remains either non-existent or ineffective, posing a significant threat to quality of patient care. Ensuring the use of safe, effective and ethical infection prevention and control measures is an important component of daily nursing care. This practice standard is evidence-based and outlines practice expectations for all nurses in all roles and practice settings.