Resource Library

IPC

The road to achieving epidemic-ready primary health care

The Lancet Public Health

A new model for integrating public health and health care delivery— epidemic-ready primary health care—that can identify and stop outbreaks, maintain essential services during disruptions, strengthen population resilience, and ensure health worker and patient safety. For the Lancet Global Health, we argue that strengthening primary health-care capacities for detection, vaccination, treatment, and coordination with public health would improve health security significantly. We anticipate that progress will be stepwise, driven by agreements on core services, optimized funding mechanisms, and health improvement incentives. Advocacy from health workers and civil society will be essential, as is political consensus. To achieve robust epidemic-ready primary health care, we must commit to substantial financial and structural reforms, ensuring that we are prepared for future health challenges.

Safer primary healthcare facilities are needed to protect healthcare workers and maintain essential services: lessons learned from a multicountry COVID-19 emergency response initiative

BMJ Global Health

While an infection prevention and control initiative improved COVID-19 infection rates for health care workers in Africa, ongoing challenges demonstrated the need for long-term investments in sustainable IPC programs. In BMJ Global Health, Resolve to Save Lives examines an infection prevention and control (IPC) initiative implemented in 22 African countries from April 2020 to January 2021. The initiative provided training, personal protective equipment (PPE) and ongoing supervision to over 42,000 frontline health care workers at 8,444 facilities. Despite achieving short-term improvements in IPC practices, suspected health care worker infections peaked at 41.5% during the pandemic’s first wave in July 2020. The study emphasizes that protecting health care workers requires comprehensive IPC programs, integrated training approaches, enhanced data systems, and sustained investment in PPE.

Rapid scale-up of COVID-19 training for frontline health workers in 11 African countries

Human Resources for Health

Effective outbreak response requires sustained investments in health systems—going beyond training to include adequate equipment, space and staffing levels. For Human Resources for Health, our colleagues at ICAP at Columbia University analyzed a COVID-19 response training program for health care workers in 11 African countries in mid-2020. While confidence in managing COVID-19 increased, barriers like limited access to testing kits, PPE, space for isolation, and understaffing persisted.

Modelling the economic burden of SARS-CoV-2 infection in health care workers in four countries

Nature Communications

SARS-CoV-2 infections among health care workers caused up to 8.38% of total health expenditures in five low- and middle-income countries, underscoring a need for stronger protection measures for frontline workers, who faced increased risk of infection during the COVID-19 pandemic. Writing in Nature Communications, experts at Resolve to Save Lives used a a cost-of-illness (COI) approach to model the economic burden associated with SARS-CoV-2 infections in five low- and middle-income sites (Kenya, Eswatini, Colombia, KwaZulu-Natal province, and Western Cape province of South Africa) during the first year of the pandemic. Our analysis revealed higher infection rates among health care workers compared to the wider population, with significant secondary transmissions and related deaths and impacts on maternal and child mortality. These societal burdens highlight the importance of adequate infection prevention and control (IPC) measures to keep health care workers, and the rest of us, safe during crises.

Assessing and reducing risk to health care workers in outbreaks

Health Security

Identiftying critical points of failure within the health system and during emergencies is the first step to mitigating future risk exposure. The West African Ebola epidemic (2014-2016) revealed alarming gaps in infection prevention and control for health care workers, highlighting a major vulnerability in global health security. Experts from Resolve to Save Lives propose a two-pronged soluion: prioritizing IPC as a global epidemic preparedness measure and conducting rapid risk assessments to adapt strategies for health care worker protection. Improved global support and targeted interventions are vital to strengthen health systems and safeguard frontline workers.

Prévention et contrôle des infections contre la maladie à virus Ebola et la COVID-19

Resolve to Save Lives

Fiche d’information sur la prévention et le contrôle des infections contre la maladie à virus Ebola et la COVID-19.

Messages clés de prévention et contrôle des infections (PCI) pour la maladie à virus Ebola dans les structures de soins de santé

Resolve to Save Lives

Fiche d’information sur les messages clés de ce qui a changé dans le pratiques de PCI qu’il est recommandé d’appliquer lors des épidémies actuelles et à venir.

Key Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Messages for Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) at Health Care Facilities

Resolve to Save Lives

An overview of changes to infection, prevention and control (IPC) practices recommended for Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreaks.