Importance of infection control in increasing patient safety and preventing infections during healthcare (literature review)

Background. Today, the topic of combating Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs) is becoming increasingly relevant. The World Health Organization has developed the concept of Infection Prevention and Control (IPC), which is a key component of quality control and patient safety in hospitals. Aim. To analyze modern methods of infection prevention and the role of healthcare workers in the effective implementation of infection control measures, according to the data of modern literature sources. Materials and Methods. We analyzed the literature on prevention of hospital-acquired infections, as well as the importance of infection control in improving patient safety, the role of medical staff in the provision of medical care. The search for scientific information was carried out using the scientific databases Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar. Results & Conclusions. Hospital-acquired infections are a serious public health problem associated with increased patient morbidity and mortality, as well as an economic burden on healthcare systems. Approximately 10% of hospitalized patients in high-income countries are affected by HAIs. Infection control is defined as a set of effective organizational, preventive and anti-epidemic measures aimed at preventing the occurrence and spread of healthcare-associated infections. Healthcare workers play an important role in the effective implementation of infection control measures. The use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), hand hygiene, environmental cleaning, screening and isolation, sterilization and disinfection, surveillance and reporting, vaccination and the introduction of innovative technologies in hospital infection control are important elements of the prevention and control of HAIs. Hospital infection control is essential to protect patients, healthcare workers and the wider community from HAIs. These measures are important to protect patients, healthcare workers and all society. Keywords: hand hygiene, healthcare-associated infections, infection prevention.