Abstract
Background
Clinicians play an essential role in the implementation of infection prevention policy.
Despite this, little is known about how infection control policy is implemented at
an organizational level or what factors influence this process. In this study, we
explore these factors and the policy implementation process in the context of the
introduction of a national large-scale, government-directed infection prevention policy
in Australia.
Methods
Focus groups with infection control professionals were held in 3 states to investigate
the perspectives of infection control professionals involved in the implementation
of aseptic technique policy requirements in Australian hospitals. Data were analyzed
using an interpretive description approach, with themes mapped to the Consolidated
Framework for Implementation Research.
Results
Common contextual factors were identified across all levels of the healthcare system
that influenced implementation of the infection control policy, including external
factors associated with the policy itself and the regulatory nature of government-directed
policy.
Conclusions
This study suggests that there may be particular constructs and contextual factors
that are specific to policy implementation in the hospital setting. A better understanding
of these factors and their influence on policy implementation would present an opportunity
for improved implementation planning, resource allocation, and more effective policy
development.
Key Words
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to American Journal of Infection ControlAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards.ACSQHC, Sydney (Australia)2011
- Safety and quality improvement guide Standard 3: Preventing and controlling healthcare associated infection.ACSQHC, Sydney (Australia)2012
- Using an aseptic technique to reduce the risk of infection.Nurs Stand. 2007; 21: 43-48
- Australian guidelines for the prevention and control of infection in healthcare.Commonwealthof Australia, Canberra (Australia)2010
- Variations in aseptic technique and implications for infection control.Br J Nurs. 2009; 18: 26-31
- Improving standards of aseptic practice through an ANTT trust-wide implementation process: a matter of prioritization and care.J Infect Prev. 2009; 10: S18-S23
- ANTT v2: an updated practice framework for aseptic technique.Br J Nurs. 2010; 19: S5-11
- Aseptic Non-Touch Technique (ANTT)-competency training and assessment.Healthc Infect. 2012; 17: 143-144
- A survey of aseptic precautions and needle type for pediatric caudal block in Australia and New Zealand.Anaesth Intensive Care. 2013; 41: 102
- ANTT clinical competencies for nursing students.Aust Nurs J. 2009; 17: 39-41
- Roles, responsibilities and scope of practice: describing the ‘state of play’ for infection control professionals in Australia and New Zealand.Healthc Infect. 2015; 20: 29-35
- Theories of behavior change synthesized into a set of theoretical groupings: introducing a thematic series on the theoretical domains framework.Implement Sci. 2012; 7: 35
- Validation of the theoretical domains framework for use in behavior change and implementation research.Implement Sci. 2012; 7: 37
- Data analysis in qualitative research.Evid-Based Nurs. 2000; 3: 68-70
- Fostering implementation of health services research findings into practice: a consolidated framework for advancing implementation science.Implement Sci. 2009; 4: 50
- Making sense of implementation theories, models and frameworks.Implement Sci. 2015; 10: 53
- Combined use of the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) and the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF): a systematic review.Implement Sci. 2017; 12: 2
Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 29, 2018
Footnotes
Funding/support: SMH received funding for this study in the form of an Early Career Research grant from the Australasian College for Infection Prevention and Control.
Conflicts of interest: None to report.
Identification
Copyright
© 2018 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
