Insights & Solutions

As part of the infection prevention toolbox, in this issue brief you will learn about the importance of hand hygiene in improving safety, quality, and economic impact, a systems approach to hand hygiene that integrates environmental, operational, and personal factors for infection prevention, and new, effective, and easy-to-implement hand hygiene measures.

This list of resources is made of up of articles, books, policies, organizations, and more, related to infection control.  Use this list to learn more about this topic.

Learn about:

the three main ways pathogens are spread in a healthcare facility, why infection control specialists and designers need to work as a team for best results and ​why more research is needed to determine the impact of specific design features on infection control.

This presentation provides information on the current incidence of healthcare-associated infections in U.S. hospitals and design & construction considerations that can help prevent these outcomes. Examples of published outbreaks related to design and construction activity are provided. In addition, specific examples of design options and construction risk mitigation measures will be reviewed. 

Hand hygiene is the single most important component of healthcare-associated infection prevention. The physical environment plays a key role in promoting hand hygiene. Effective hand hygiene strategies integrate environmental, personal, and organizational/operational elements.    

The following are compiled from research literature, case studies, interviews, and other materials to provide an overview on the topic of infection control.  

Learn about: the interdisciplinary infection control working group created to guide design decisions, the methods used to protect individuals from infection during the construction process, and the design strategies implemented in the new facility to reduce the spread of infections.

Learn about: the benefits of creating multidisciplinary stakeholder teams, the complications that can arise with some antimicrobial cleaners, and the close connection between cleaning standards and furniture selection.

Learn about: the relationship between visible cleanliness and the risk of contracting a serious infection in the healthcare setting, the spread of pathogens in healthcare settings and the risk of infection in U.S. healthcare settings compared with other countries.