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Post-Pandemic Infection Prevention

By July 25, 2022April 2nd, 2023No Comments

The COVID-19 pandemic has put tremendous stress on the healthcare system and every profession within it. Not surprisingly, healthcare facilities have prioritized infection prevention and control (IPC) duties, requiring extra responsibilities to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other healthcare-associated infections.

At the recent Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) 2022 Annual Conference, researchers from the University of Michigan presented a study titled “A Whole New World: Changes in the Nursing Home Infection Preventionist Role in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic”1. In the study, they found that the role of IPC professionals has changed dramatically since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In long-term care homes, they found that the amount of time allotted to IPC duties nearly doubled from an average of 20 hours to 38 hours per week. Specifically, they took on additional infection prevention-related activities such as staff education, employee health, and input into visitation procedures, personal protective equipment (PPE), and isolation strategies.

The scramble to implement new IPC protocols during the pandemic has revealed areas that need improvement. Many recommendations were implemented without a scientific basis in a desperate attempt to prevent the spread of COVID-19. While many of these precautions ultimately proved to be beneficial, some measures may have had negative consequences. For example, strict visitation policies have potentially adverse consequences on the well-being of the patient, without any clear evidence of benefit2.

A recent article in the Journal of Hospital Infection calls for post-pandemic IPC research upon a systematic review of the evidence for national and international IPC guidance3. The article exposes low-quality of evidence for IPC recommendations in important areas such as the use of PPE, isolation measures, and environmental cleaning.

With many of these policy changes and an increase in IPC duties, additional responsibilities have fallen onto nurses. One leading expert urges that nursing facilities should avoid handing more duties to floor nurses and instead hire IPC professionals for their knowledge and passion for the field4. An infection control program must consider everything from PPE to surveillance and disease reporting, which requires sufficient time and attention to be implemented properly.

In a time when our nurses are overworked, we must look for solutions to lighten their workload and delegate tasks where appropriate. Adding a designated role for IPC professionals to share their expertise might be one step in the right direction for healthcare facilities experiencing burnout on the floor.

  1. Infection Control Today. LTC Infection Preventionist Responsibilities Doubled Due To COVID-19. June 30, 2022. Accessed July 15, 2022. https://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/view/ltc-infection-preventions-responsibilities-doubled-due-covid-19-pandemic
  2. Moss, S. J., Krewulak, K. D., Stelfox, H. T., Ahmed, S. B., Anglin, M. C., Bagshaw, S. M., … & Fiest, K. M. (2021). Restricted visitation policies in acute care settings during the COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review. Critical Care, 25(1), 1-12.
  3. Reilly, J., Hooker, E. L., & Mitchell, B. G. (2022). Under the HAI lens: post-pandemic research priorities for IPC, a call to action. The Journal of Hospital Infection.
  4. McKnights Long-Term Care News. Forget the add-on role: Here’s who really wants that infection preventionist job. May 19, 2022. Accessed July 15, 2022. https://www.mcknights.com/news/no-add-on-role-heres-who-really-wants-that-infection-preventionist-job/