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Table 2 Curriculum recommended for occupational infection prevention and control training programs

From: Recommendations related to occupational infection prevention and control training to protect healthcare workers from infectious diseases: a scoping review of infection prevention and control guidelines

Organization / Country

Training Curriculum

World Health Organization

Refer to international curricula and networks for specialized infection prevention and control programmes and to adapt these documents and approaches to national needs and local available resources

United States of America, Centre for Disease Control

• Federal, state, and local education and training requirements

• Modes of infectious disease transmission and implementation of standard and transmission-based precautions

• Hand hygiene

• Sharps injury prevention

• Immunizations recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for healthcare personnel

• Healthcare personnel screening for selected infectious diseases before job placement and periodically thereafter

• How to access occupational health services, when needed, and expectations for reporting exposures

• Expectations for reporting illnesses or conditions (work-related or acquired outside of work), such as rashes or skin conditions (e.g., non-intact skin on hands); febrile, respiratory, and gastrointestinal illnesses, and hospitalizations resulting from infectious diseases

• Sick leave and other policies and procedures related to infectious healthcare personnel, including the risks of presenteeism to other healthcare personnel and patients

Australia

• An understanding of the modes of transmission of infectious agents and of risk management

• Effective work practices that minimise the risk of transmission of infectious agents

• Governance structures that support the implementation, monitoring and reporting of infection prevention and control work practices

• Compliance with legislation, regulations and standards relevant to infection control

Canada

• Critical IPC assessment skills / risk assessment

• IPC program basic standards of practice (“core competencies”):

• hand-hygiene for staff, service providers, and volunteers

• concepts of Routine Practices

• concepts of Additional Precautions

• appropriate use of PPE

•safe management of sharps

• health care worker immunization

• work restrictions due to infectious diseases

• equipment cleaning and disinfection/sterilization

• environmental cleaning

• basic microbiology and transmission of microorganisms

• how and when to report IPC-related incidents, injuries and issues of concern

• information on common HAIs affecting the organization (e.g., methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, vancomycin-resistant enterococci, Clostridium difficile infection, device-associated infections); and

• Additional IPC resources available, both within and outside the organization

Gulf Cooperation Council

• Hand hygiene

• Donning and doffing of personal protective equipment

United Kingdom

No specific Information

India

• Information on modes of transmission of infectious diseases, level of occupational risk (to reduce fear of contact with infected patients) prevention and control

• Safe work practices

• Handling of PPE and clothing

• Reporting of exposure incident

• Techniques on stress management, provision of appropriate staffing levels, shift, rotation, counselling, support and communication skills

• Regulations and policies

Indonesia

• Basic principles of IPC

• Hand hygiene

• Cough ethics

• Waste handling

• Appropriate use of PPE

Pakistan

• Infection prevention control

• Personal hygiene

• Management of sharps injuries and exposure to blood and body fluids

Philippines

• Epidemiology of healthcare associated infections

• Hand hygiene

• Isolation precautions

• Decontamination

• Disinfection & Sterilization

• Care of the environment and hospital waste management

• Infection control during routine patient care

• Infection control in special and high-risk area

• Infection control in hospital ancillary services

• Healthcare worker infection risks and prevention