Improving infection prevention and control at the health facility: an interim practical manual

Overview

This practical manual is designed to support health-care facilities to achieve effective implementation of their infection prevention and control (IPC) programmes according to the World Health Organization (WHO) Guidelines on core components of IPC programmes in the context of their efforts to improve the quality and safety of health service delivery and the health outcomes of the people who access those services.

The principles and guidance provided in this manual are valid for any country, but with a special focus on settings with limited resources. The guidelines address eight areas of IPC and a summary of the recommendations can be found in Part II The guidelines describe what is necessary (that is, recommendations) to effectively improve IPC, according to the available evidence and wide-ranging expert consensus.

This manual offers practical guidance, tips, resources and examples from around the world to support guideline implementation. It also focuses on the development of a sustainable action plan that should be informed by the local context to put into operation the guideline recommendations. Finally, the manual focuses on integrating and embedding IPC within the day-to-day structure and activities of a health care facility