Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Westmead, NSW, Australia; Marie Bashir Institute for Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia; The University of Sydney, Westmead Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, NSW, Australia.
Infect Dis Health. 2021 May;26(2):139-144. doi: 10.1016/j.idh.2020.12.002. Epub 2021 Jan 16.
Effective infection prevention and control (IPC) programmes comprise a hierarchy of preventive measures, one of which is appropriate use of personal protective equipment (PPE). A poor understanding of the role of PPE and sub-optimal use may fail to prevent or even increase pathogen transmission during routine care or an infectious disease outbreak. Variability in delivery and content of IPC and PPE education and training across organisations can lead to confusion, unsafe practice, and lack of confidence among clinicians. In a national survey we explored the perspectives of Australian and New Zealand IPC professionals on the value and feasibility of a national IPC training and monitoring programme to improve and standardise PPE practice and raise the profile of IPC.
A population-based online survey that examined hospital PPE training programmes was distributed to members of three major Australasian organisations representing IPC professionals. Quantitative results of the survey have been reported previously. This paper is a qualitative analysis of responses to two open-ended questions about a national approach to training in IPC and the use of PPE.
Most respondents agreed that standardising IPC and PPE training could achieve more consistent practice nationally, supported through the provision of educational resources. Including competency in the use of PPE in mandatory IPC standards would assist in improving the practice and raising the profile of IPC more generally.
The results of this study suggest that that there is support for national programmes and standards for use of PPE in Australia and New Zealand.
有效的感染预防和控制（IPC）计划包括预防措施的层次结构，其中之一是适当使用个人防护设备（PPE）。如果对 PPE 的作用缺乏了解，或者使用不当，可能无法预防甚至会在常规护理或传染病爆发期间增加病原体的传播。IPC 和 PPE 教育和培训在各组织之间的交付和内容存在差异，可能导致临床医生感到困惑、不安全的实践以及缺乏信心。在一项全国性调查中，我们探讨了澳大利亚和新西兰 IPC 专业人员对全国 IPC 培训和监测计划的价值和可行性的看法，该计划旨在改善和标准化 PPE 实践并提高 IPC 的知名度。
这项基于人群的在线调查检查了医院 PPE 培训计划，并分发给代表 IPC 专业人员的三个主要澳大拉西亚组织的成员。之前已经报告了该调查的定量结果。本文是对关于 IPC 培训和 PPE 使用的全国性方法的两个开放式问题的回应的定性分析。
大多数受访者一致认为，标准化的 IPC 和 PPE 培训可以在全国范围内实现更一致的实践，通过提供教育资源来支持。在强制性 IPC 标准中纳入 PPE 使用的能力将有助于更普遍地改善实践和提高 IPC 的知名度。
这项研究的结果表明，澳大利亚和新西兰支持使用 PPE 的全国性计划和标准。
