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Challenges of infection prevention and control in Scottish long-term care facilities

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 April 2020

Le K. N. Nguyen Open the ORCID record for Le K. N. Nguyen [Opens in a new window] ,
Itamar Megiddo  and
Susan Howick
Le K. N. Nguyen*
Affiliation:
Department of Management Science, Cathedral Wing, Strathclyde Business School, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK
Itamar Megiddo
Affiliation:
Department of Management Science, Cathedral Wing, Strathclyde Business School, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK
Susan Howick
Affiliation:
Department of Management Science, Cathedral Wing, Strathclyde Business School, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK
*
Author for correspondence: Le Khanh Ngan Nguyen, E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Residents living in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) are at high risk of contracting healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). The unique operational and cultural characteristics of LTCFs and the currently evolving models of healthcare delivery in Scotland create great challenges for infection prevention and control (IPC). Existing literature that discusses the challenges of infection control in LTCFs focuses on operational factors within a facility and does not explore the challenges associated with higher levels of management and the lack of evidence to support IPC practices in this setting.1-7 Here, we provide a broader view of challenges faced by LTCFs in the context of the current health and social care models in Scotland. Many of these challenges are also faced in the rest of the United Kingdom and internationally.

Type
Commentary
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 41 , Issue 8 , August 2020 , pp. 943 - 945
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Copyright
© 2020 by The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. All rights reserved.

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