Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and communicable diseases cause disproportionate harm and mortality in older Australians compared to the general population. This issue is particularly challenging in residential aged care homes (RACHs), where the combination of communal living spaces, shared staff and residents’ high vulnerability to infection put older people at significant risk of adverse health outcomes.

Project Aged Care Infection Prevention and Control will develop minimum program elements and practice standards for infection prevention and control (IPC) in Australian residential aged care homes. This will be achieved through close collaboration and consultation with policy makers, aged care partners and IPC professionals (ICPs) throughout the research process. These include representatives from the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care and the Ageing Australia, the national peak body for aged care service providers.

The outcomes of this project will lead to greater consistency in IPC practice in aged care. This project will set the minimum standards for the contents of IPC programs and their governance, as well as the type of qualifications, competency and roles the ICP is expected to bring to the aged care home.

This research will ultimately enable RACHs to better maximise efforts to prevent and control infection and provide a safer, higher quality and more effective healthcare environment for both residents and staff.