Infection prevention and control in-service education and training curriculum

Overview

The primary objective of this curriculum is to equip health and care workers with the essential
knowledge and competencies necessary for delivering safe and effective care. By doing so it aims to
significantly reduce HAIs and combat antimicrobial resistance, thereby safeguarding both patient and
HCWs well-being.

This curriculum is developed to meet the needs of IPC professionals responsible for developing
learning resources and overseeing training within health care organizations. Moreover, the curriculum
is intended to encompass all individuals involved in health care delivery and support. This holistic
approach includes a wide range of staff -ranging from clinical workers to administrative and auxiliary
services, thus ensuring a broad and inclusive approach to IPC training. 

The guide is designed to be flexible, allowing for adaptation to various educational and practical
contexts to meet specific national and local IPC requirements and policies. It delineates three distinct
competency levels within the curriculum:

• foundational: introduces basic IPC principles applicable universally across all health and care
worker roles;

• intermediate: delivers more detailed IPC practices, particularly for clinical practitioners in direct
contact with patients;

• advanced: provides specialized IPC knowledge tailored for clinical specialists and managerial
roles, reflecting the specific needs of their positions and settings.

This curriculum serves as an essential reference tool to support the planning, development, and
localization of IPC education materials, aligning closely with the WHO core components for IPC
programmes and the directions provided within the WHO global strategy and action plan on IPC. It
supports countries in their efforts to implement actions to improve IPC knowledge and skills among
health and care workers according to the recommendations in the WHO global action plan and
monitoring framework. By enhancing the IPC competencies of health and care workers, this guide
supports the capacity of the health care system to effectively manage and prevent infections, which
is particularly crucial in improving patient outcomes and promoting safer health care environments,
including in the context of epidemics, pandemics and other public health emergencies.