Consultants are working collectively to convey down charges of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in low- and middle-income nations, which may be no less than 3 occasions larger than these in high-income nations. Healthcare professionals educated in an infection prevention and management (IPC) are vital to scale back HAIs and enhance affected person and healthcare employee security, however many healthcare services in low- and middle-income nations lack educated IPC professionals.

CDC and ICAP at Columbia College collaborated with companions in Sierra Leone and Ethiopia to develop and set up IPC coaching packages. These packages intention to equip IPC professionals with the information and expertise wanted to successfully implement IPC packages in quite a lot of healthcare settings.

Sierra Leone

Throughout the 2014–2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the Sierra Leone Ministry of Well being (MoH) acknowledged the necessity for educated IPC personnel and appointed and educated healthcare professionals to turn into IPC workers in any respect district hospitals. Following the outbreak, the Sierra Leone MoH requested help from U.S. CDC to develop and implement a complete coaching program for IPC professionals.

This request led to CDC’s collaboration with ICAP, Sierra Leone MoH, the World Well being Group, and An infection Management Africa Community in 2017 to develop Sierra Leone’s IPC coaching program, named the Sierra Leone Superior IPC Certificates Course.

“This initiative has revolutionized Sierra Leone’s strategy to an infection prevention and management,” mentioned Christiana Kallon, Nationwide IPC Coordinator. “By empowering and mentoring healthcare professionals, we’ve got considerably bolstered our protection in opposition to infectious ailments.”

ICAP led the event of the competency-based curriculum, a 6-month course that mixes classroom studying with hands-on coaching. Program individuals obtain mentorship from Sierra Leone MoH, CDC-Sierra Leone, ICAP and different native companions all through this system.

The course formally launched in 2019 and 60 healthcare suppliers have graduated throughout three cohorts (10 from the nationwide degree, 15 from districts, 35 from well being services). Nearly all of graduates (70%) proceed to work as IPC focal factors – healthcare staff liable for implementing IPC measures – on the nationwide, district, or well being facility degree or maintain different IPC roles. These graduates have performed pivotal roles in implementing IPC actions throughout all well being system ranges together with:

• Being actively concerned within the nationwide IPC program (88% of nationwide IPC unit personnel are coaching program graduates), which performs an important function in overseeing implementation of nationwide IPC tips to make sure healthcare security.
• Educating courses within the Superior IPC Certificates Course and offering one-on-one mentorship to new trainees in this system (30% of graduates have taught or mentored new program trainees).
• Taking part in emergency response groups to develop and implement efficient IPC methods throughout outbreaks corresponding to Lassa fever and COVID-19.

Ethiopia

Utilizing information gained from Sierra Leone’s Superior IPC Certificates Course, CDC and ICAP started work in February 2023 with companions in Ethiopia, together with the Ethiopian MoH and Saint Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical School, to implement a equally structured 6-month program generally known as the An infection Prevention and Management Superior Coaching Program or IPCAP.

The hands-on studying tasks had been tailored for Ethiopia’s present priorities, together with microbiology, injection security, and HAI surveillance. Members of the Nationwide IPC Program on the MoH, CDC-Ethiopia, and different IPC professionals in Ethiopia mentored the trainees all through their area work.

The primary cohort of 19 trainees in Ethiopia graduated in October 2023. The trainees had been IPC focal factors from 16 totally different healthcare services and three Regional Well being Bureaus (RHBs). IPC focal factors from healthcare services with ongoing collaborations with the Nationwide IPC Unit had been prioritized for the primary coaching cohort. Though in early levels of implementation, the current graduates of IPCAP proceed to function IPC focal factors at healthcare services and RHBs the place they’re now main high quality enchancment tasks and implementation of HAI surveillance per the nationwide protocol.

Sustaining Success

The third cohort of Sierra Leone’s Superior IPC Certificates Course was delivered in partnership with Njala College. Sierra Leone MoH is now exploring the potential for increasing course supply to different native universities to fulfill demand and enhance sustainability. Ethiopia’s MoH can also be figuring out alternatives to maintain the IPC coaching program.

Study extra about what CDC and companions are doing globally to observe and forestall HAIs.

Authors:

Lindsay Tompkins, PhD, MS is an epidemiologist on the Implementation Staff within the Worldwide An infection Management Department within the Division of Healthcare High quality and Promotion on the U.S. Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention in Atlanta.

Karen Wu, DVM, MSPH is an epidemiologist on the Implementation Staff within the Worldwide An infection Management Department within the Division of Healthcare High quality and Promotion on the U.S. Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention in Atlanta.