Handbook

This course is offered in two modes: either face to face (on-campus) and fully online.

Infection prevention and control is patient safety priority in our healthcare facilities. In the future common treatable infections may become untreatable. Past estimates of patients acquiring a healthcare associated infection (HAI) range from 1 in 8 to 1 in 10 hospitalised patients. Healthcare associated infections contribute to the disability and stress of the patient, additional length of stay and cost and death. Infection prevention and control in healthcare settings is a global priority endorsed by the World Health Organization and a national priority for the Australian Government, Ministries of Health, the Australian Commission of Quality and Safety in Health Care and healthcare facility accreditation organisations.

This course is aimed at informing healthcare managers, clinicians, planners and policy makers with an overview of HAIs, the complexity of the causes and drivers of the spread of HAI and the activities required for the prevention and control of HAIs. Because the course is aligned with the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards 3 it is particularly of interest to healthcare managers but also international students will also benefit as this Standard is a core component of any excellent infection prevention and control program. The course content includes components infection control programs recognised as core to any sound program by the World Health Organization. An international expert in infection prevention facilitates the course and experts in specific content provide lectures on the current issues.

This course is an elective course across all Masters programs. It is comprised of six units of credit towards the total required for the completion of these programs. There are no pre-requisites for this course. However, it is an advantage if you have basic knowledge about the transmission routes of infectious diseases, and experience in healthcare settings, especially hospitals and a patient care-related field. This course complements the content of PHCM9781 Evidence Informed Decision Making, PHCM9782 Infectious Diseases Challenges: epidemiology and control and PHCM9731 Outbreak Investigation.