Infection, Prevention and Control: A Multifaceted Approach to Preventing Hospital Acquired Infections Principal

In Canada, Health care associated infections affect more than 200,000 patients each year in Canada. The primary route of transmission of nosocomial pathogens are healthcare workers' hands and a secondary contributor to the transmission of pathogens within the hospital setting is the environment itself. The transmission of pathogens from health care workers and the environment to patients can be reduced through the use of routine infection prevention and control (IPAC) practices including completing a risk assessment, hand hygiene, controlling the environment (disinfecting equipment and surfaces), and the proper use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). All healthcare workers are responsible for implementing practices to reduce the spread of infection, including nursing students.

Nurses and nursing students are frequently exposed to blood and bodily fluids, emphasizing the importance of proper IPAC practices. Knowledge regarding IPAC practices varies from satisfactory to disappointing and even when nursing students have the correct knowledge they report rarely performing hand hygiene prior to non-invasive procedures There is a need to develop and implement multi-modal teaching strategies that improve the students' theoretical knowledge of IPAC and allow them to apply these concepts in an educational setting prior to implementing them within the clinical environment.

Different educational modalities including self-guided resources, synchronous teaching, or online modules can be used to provide theoretical nursing knowledge. However, to actively engage students with knowledge through practical application and hands-on experiences. To help bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and application prior to clinical exposure, various teaching modalities have been proposed. This includes structured education programs, virtual simulation, interactive computer modules and simulated practice. Studies that have implemented these innovative teaching methodologies have demonstrated encouraging results related to IPAC practices.

An improvement in knowledge has been demonstrated in studies with nursing students after the addition of interactive and experiential learning to their didactic lessons. They also reported greater satisfaction with lessons when hands-on modalities allow for decision making without the risk of harm, allow engagement with a hospital-like environment, and reviews materials repeatedly In addition, despite having appropriate education, leadership and environmental cues heavily influence a student's implementation of IPAC practices. Students were more likely to forego the use of PPE when they noticed nurses in the clinical environment were not engaging in standard precautions. Therefore, it is essential to rethink how IPAC practices can be fully integrated into nursing student's routine practices to help mitigate the influence of what they witness in the clinical setting. Although there is a benefit to mixed modality teaching strategies, there is a gap in the literature regarding the effectiveness of an in-class mixed-modality educational session that combines didactic, hands-on practice, and videos on IPAC knowledge.

Aim The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness the effectiveness of an innovative educational session that included didactic education intermingled with hands-on practice, and video scenarios on or final year nursing students' knowledge regarding the key steps in the prevention and control of the spread of infections. This study examined the following questions: for final year nursing students, what is the effect of an innovative IPAC education intervention on (a) change in knowledge regarding IPAC practices and (b) the ability to correctly identify errors in IPAC practices.