Staff perceptions of their roles in infection prevention and control in residential aged care homes: A qualitative study.

IF 2.4 3区医学 Q2 INFECTIOUS DISEASES

American journal of infection control Pub Date : 2025-09-04 DOI:10.1016/j.ajic.2025.09.001

Nantanit van Gulik, Wendy Calder, Philippa Blencowe, Alexandra Mikus-Cunningham, Roslyn Carmichael, Stephane Bouchoucha, Tejashree Kangutkar, Julie Considine

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: Older people who live in residential aged care homes (RACHs) are particularly vulnerable to infections. Without staff commitment and engagement, even the most well-designed policies and guidelines may fail to achieve infection prevention and control (IPAC) effectiveness. The aim of this study was to examine staff perceptions of their roles in IPAC in RACHs.

Methods: A qualitative descriptive study using semistructured interviews with 21 direct care and support staff was conducted on 2 RACHs in Melbourne, Australia. Participants were interviewed from May to October 2024. Transcribed audio-recordings of interviews were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis.

Results: Both direct care and support staff perceived their primary role in IPAC as providing both physical safety and emotional support to older people. While they recognized the importance of routine and outbreak-related IPAC practices, they identified key barriers such as older people's cognitive impairment, home-like environments, and staffing challenges. Most participants felt supported by organizational training but emphasized the need for ongoing IPAC education regardless of role.

Conclusions: The findings highlight the importance of tailored IPAC training, including communication strategies for supporting older people with cognitive impairment, along with team collaboration and workforce retention measures to sustain effective IPAC in RACHs.

查看原文本刊更多论文

安老院舍员工对预防及控制感染角色的认知：一项质性研究。

背景：居住在养老院的老年人特别容易受到感染。如果没有工作人员的承诺和参与，即使是设计最完善的政策和指南也可能无法实现感染预防和控制的有效性。本研究的目的是检查工作人员的看法，他们在IPAC在地区的角色。方法：采用半结构化访谈对澳大利亚墨尔本两家医院的21名直接护理和支持人员进行定性描述性研究。参与者于2024年5月至10月接受采访。采用归纳主题分析法对采访录音进行分析。结果：直接护理人员和支持人员都认为他们在IPAC中的主要作用是为老年人提供身体安全和情感支持。虽然他们认识到常规和与疫情有关的IPAC做法的重要性，但他们确定了主要障碍，如老年人的认知障碍、家庭般的环境和人员配备挑战。大多数与会者感到有组织培训的支持，但强调不论角色如何，都需要持续进行机构间发展规划教育。结论：研究结果强调了量身定制的IPAC培训的重要性，包括支持认知障碍老年人的沟通策略，以及团队协作和劳动力保留措施，以维持RACHs中有效的IPAC。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

American journal of infection control 医学-传染病学

CiteScore

7.40

自引率

4.10%

发文量

479

审稿时长

24 days

期刊介绍： AJIC covers key topics and issues in infection control and epidemiology. Infection control professionals, including physicians, nurses, and epidemiologists, rely on AJIC for peer-reviewed articles covering clinical topics as well as original research. As the official publication of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC)