Infection Preventionists’ Beliefs, Barriers, and Opportunities to Provide Quality Training to Healthcare Personnel

Session Description: Educating healthcare staff on infection prevention and control (IPC) practice is an essential component of infection preventionists’ (IP) role, but little is known about the current IPC field and the impact it might have on IPs’ ability to provide quality training. It is also critical to identify IPs’ currently used training approaches and tools as well as their preferred teaching methods, so that future training opportunities can address these needs. In summer of 2023, APIC partnered with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Project Firstline to conduct a national study examining current IPC practice and IPs’ attitudes, beliefs, barriers, and opportunities to educate healthcare personnel on IPC. CDC's Project Firstline is a national education collaborative aimed at bringing IPC training to frontline healthcare personnel across healthcare settings.

The purpose of this session is to: a) outline findings from the national survey of APIC members related to the IPC practices and the current and preferred educational approaches used by IPs to educate healthcare personnel, and b) Describe challenges faced by infection preventionists and their preferred methods for providing frontline worker IPC training. The session will be co-presented by members of the APIC research team who led the study and members of CDC’s Project Firstline. The general format for this presentation could include the following: a) describe CDC’s Project Firstline program and the reasons why a national study of APIC members was conducted, b) describe methods and findings from the national study, c) describe recommendations for future projects or research stemming from these findings, d) describe steps Project Firstline have taken in response to the study findings and existing PFL initiatives that address the identified needs, and e) outline future strategies for improving IPC education. Evidence-based best practices for educating and communicating with healthcare personnel about IPC practice will be included throughout the presentation.