Topic-specific infection prevention
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- Topic-specific infection prevention
- Antimicrobial Stewardship
- Catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI)
- Central Line-associated Bloodstream Infections (CLABSI)
- Clostridioides difficile
- CRE
- Disinfection and Sterilization
- Ebola Infection Prevention and Control Resources
- Environmental Services
- Environment of Care
- Hand Hygiene
- Long-Term Care
- Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus
- Pneumonia
- Vaccine Preventable Diseases
- Quick Observation Tools
Proper hand hygiene is the number one way to prevent the spread of infection. Everyone—healthcare professionals, patients, residents, families, and volunteers—should clean their hands thoroughly and at appropriate times to prevent the spread of disease.
The following links are APIC resources on hand hygiene for healthcare professionals.
Implementation guides and tools
- APIC Patient Hand Hygiene Toolkit
- Strategies to Prevent Healthcare-Associated Infections through Hand Hygiene—Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (APIC collaborated with SHEA and other organizations on development of this resource)
- How-to guide: Improving hand hygiene—Joint guide with Institute for Healthcare Improvement
- Wash or clean your hands—Infection Prevention and You
- APIC Text (subscription required)
Education & training
APIC offers a comprehensive collection of clinical education and professional development programs. The following resources are educational opportunities related to hand hygiene.
Visit the Education & Certification page for more educational opportunities.
- Visit the APIC Annual Conference website to search for education on hand hygiene
Prevention Strategist articles
The following links include articles on hand hygiene from APIC’s Prevention Strategist magazine.
- 5 moments for hand hygiene—Winter 2014
AJIC articles
Search the American Journal of Infection Control website for more articles on hand hygiene. To access these articles, you need to first login to the APIC website.
External resources
- Vital Signs: Protect Patients from Antibiotic Resistance, March 2016—Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Hand hygiene in healthcare settings—Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Clean care is safer care—World Health Organization
The following links are APIC and external resources on hand hygiene and infection prevention for consumers.
APIC
- Clean your hands often—Infection Prevention and You
- Holiday hand hygiene—Monthly alert for consumers
External resources
- Handwashing: Clean hands save lives—Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Hand hygiene saves lives: Patient admission video—Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Hand-washing: Do’s and don’ts—Mayo Clinic
- SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands—World Health Organization
- Global Hand Washing—The Global Public-Private Partnership for Handwashing with Soap
- Hand Washing for Teens—The Nemours Foundation