Roles, Responsibilities and Scope of Practice: Describing the ‘State of Play’ for Infection Control Professionals in Australia and New Zealand

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avondale-bepress-to-dspace.facultyNursing
avondale-bepress-to-dspace.licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
avondale-bepress-to-dspace.peer_review_statusPeer reviewed before publication
avondale-bepress.abstract<p><strong> </strong><strong><em>Background</em></strong><strong>: </strong>In the past decade the policy and practice context for infection control in Australia and New Zealand has changed, with infection control professionals (ICPs) now involved in the implementation of a large number of national strategies. Little is known about the current ICP workforce and what they do in their day-to-day positions. The aim of this study was to describe the ICP workforce in Australia and New Zealand with a focus on roles, responsibilities, and scope of practice.</p> <p><strong><em>Methods</em></strong><strong>: </strong>A cross-sectional design using snowball recruitment was employed. ICPs completed an anonymous web-based survey with questions on demographics; qualifications held; level of experience; workplace characteristics; and roles and responsibilities. Chi-squared tests were used to determine if any factors were associated with how often activities were undertaken.</p> <p><strong><em>Results</em></strong><strong>: </strong>A total of 300 ICPs from all Australian states and territories and New Zealand participated. Most ICPs were female (94%); 53% were aged over 50, and 93% were employed in registered nursing roles. Scope of practice was diverse: all ICPs indicated they undertook a large number and variety of activities as part of their roles. Some activities were undertaken on a less frequent basis by sole practitioners and ICPs in small teams.</p> <p><strong><em>Conclusion</em></strong><strong>: </strong>This survey provides useful information on the current education, experience levels and scope of practice of ICPs in Australia and New Zealand. Work is now required to establish the best mechanisms to support and potentially streamline scope of practice, so that infection-control practice is optimised.</p>
avondale-bepress.articleid1084
avondale-bepress.authorsLisa Hall
avondale-bepress.authorsKate Halton
avondale-bepress.authorsDeborough MacBeth
avondale-bepress.authorsAnne Gardner
avondale-bepress.authorsBrett G Mitchell
avondale-bepress.context-key6902187
avondale-bepress.coverpage-urlhttps://research.avondale.edu.au/nh_papers/81
avondale-bepress.document-typearticle
avondale-bepress.field.author_faculty_disciplineNursing
avondale-bepress.field.comments<p>Used by permission: CSIRO.</p> <p>Staff and Students of Avondale College may access this article from a library PRIMO search <a href="http://www.avondale.edu.au/library">here.</a></p>
avondale-bepress.field.custom_citation<p>Hall, L., Halton, K., Macbeth, D., Gardner, A., & Mitchell, B. (2015). Roles, responsibilities and scope of practice: Describing the ‘state of play’ for infection control professionals in Australia and New Zealand. <em>Healthcare Infection, 20</em>(1), 29-35. doi:10.1071/HI14037</p>
avondale-bepress.field.distribution_licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
avondale-bepress.field.doihttps://doi.org/10.1071/HI14037
avondale-bepress.field.embargo_date2015-03-25T00:00:00Z
avondale-bepress.field.field_of_education06 Health
avondale-bepress.field.for060502 Infectious Agents
avondale-bepress.field.issn1835-5625
avondale-bepress.field.issue_number1
avondale-bepress.field.journalHealthcare Infection
avondale-bepress.field.page_numbers29-35
avondale-bepress.field.peer_reviewBefore publication
avondale-bepress.field.publication_date2015-03-01T00:00:00Z
avondale-bepress.field.reportable_itemsC1
avondale-bepress.field.research_centreLifestyle Research Centre
avondale-bepress.field.source_publication<p>This article was originally published as:</p> <p>Hall, L., Halton, K., Macbeth, D., Gardner, A., & Mitchell, B. (2015). Roles, responsibilities and scope of practice: Describing the ‘state of play’ for infection control professionals in Australia and New Zealand. <em>Healthcare Infection, 20</em>(1), 29-35. doi:10.1071/HI14037</p> <p>ISSN:1835-5617</p>
avondale-bepress.field.staff_classificationPermanent
avondale-bepress.field.volume_number20
avondale-bepress.fulltext-urlhttps://research.avondale.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1084&amp;context=nh_papers&amp;unstamped=1
avondale-bepress.keywordsinfection control
avondale-bepress.keywordshospital
avondale-bepress.keywordshealthcare associated infection
avondale-bepress.keywordsstaffing
avondale-bepress.keywordsscope
avondale-bepress.keywordsroles
avondale-bepress.label81
avondale-bepress.publication-date2015-03-01T00:00:00Z
avondale-bepress.publication-titleNursing and Health Papers and Journal Articles
avondale-bepress.statepublished
avondale-bepress.submission-date2015-03-25T15:51:03Z
avondale-bepress.submission-pathnh_papers/81
avondale-bepress.titleRoles, Responsibilities and Scope of Practice: Describing the ‘State of Play’ for Infection Control Professionals in Australia and New Zealand
avondale-bepress.typearticle
dc.contributor.authorMitchell, Brett G.
dc.contributor.authorGardner, Anne
dc.contributor.authorMacBeth, Deborough
dc.contributor.authorHalton, Kate
dc.contributor.authorHall, Lisa
dc.date.accessioned2023-11-01T00:39:24Z
dc.date.available2023-11-01T00:39:24Z
dc.date.issued2015-03-01
dc.date.submitted2015-03-25T15:51:03Z
dc.description.abstract<p><strong> </strong><strong><em>Background</em></strong><strong>: </strong>In the past decade the policy and practice context for infection control in Australia and New Zealand has changed, with infection control professionals (ICPs) now involved in the implementation of a large number of national strategies. Little is known about the current ICP workforce and what they do in their day-to-day positions. The aim of this study was to describe the ICP workforce in Australia and New Zealand with a focus on roles, responsibilities, and scope of practice.</p> <p><strong><em>Methods</em></strong><strong>: </strong>A cross-sectional design using snowball recruitment was employed. ICPs completed an anonymous web-based survey with questions on demographics; qualifications held; level of experience; workplace characteristics; and roles and responsibilities. Chi-squared tests were used to determine if any factors were associated with how often activities were undertaken.</p> <p><strong><em>Results</em></strong><strong>: </strong>A total of 300 ICPs from all Australian states and territories and New Zealand participated. Most ICPs were female (94%); 53% were aged over 50, and 93% were employed in registered nursing roles. Scope of practice was diverse: all ICPs indicated they undertook a large number and variety of activities as part of their roles. Some activities were undertaken on a less frequent basis by sole practitioners and ICPs in small teams.</p> <p><strong><em>Conclusion</em></strong><strong>: </strong>This survey provides useful information on the current education, experience levels and scope of practice of ICPs in Australia and New Zealand. Work is now required to establish the best mechanisms to support and potentially streamline scope of practice, so that infection-control practice is optimised.</p>
dc.description.versionBefore publication
dc.identifier.citation<p>Hall, L., Halton, K., Macbeth, D., Gardner, A., & Mitchell, B. (2015). Roles, responsibilities and scope of practice: Describing the ‘state of play’ for infection control professionals in Australia and New Zealand. <em>Healthcare Infection, 20</em>(1), 29-35. doi:10.1071/HI14037</p>
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1071/HI14037
dc.identifier.issn1835-5625
dc.identifier.urihttps://research.avondale.edu.au/handle/123456789/06902187
dc.language.isoen_us
dc.provenance<p>This article was originally published as:</p> <p>Hall, L., Halton, K., Macbeth, D., Gardner, A., & Mitchell, B. (2015). Roles, responsibilities and scope of practice: Describing the ‘state of play’ for infection control professionals in Australia and New Zealand. <em>Healthcare Infection, 20</em>(1), 29-35. doi:10.1071/HI14037</p> <p>ISSN:1835-5617</p>
dc.rights<p>Used by permission: CSIRO.</p> <p>Staff and Students of Avondale College may access this article from a library PRIMO search <a href="http://www.avondale.edu.au/library">here.</a></p>
dc.rights.licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
dc.subjectinfection control
dc.subjecthospital
dc.subjecthealthcare associated infection
dc.subjectstaffing
dc.subjectscope
dc.subjectroles
dc.titleRoles, Responsibilities and Scope of Practice: Describing the ‘State of Play’ for Infection Control Professionals in Australia and New Zealand
dc.typeJournal Article
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