Greening Infection Prevention and Control: Multifaceted Approaches to a Sustainable Future
Open Access
- 3 July 2024
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Open Forum Infectious Diseases
- Vol. 12 (2) , ofae371
Abstract
Infection prevention and control, or IP&C, is a critical stakeholder in advancing environmental sustainability in health care. IP&C activities seek to ensure safety of processes in health care from an infection perspective, but how these are performed can drive substantial waste and pollution. There are certain IP&C measures that can, without compromising safety or efficiency, be adapted to more environmentally friendly practices and have a high impact benefit to sustainability without affecting patient outcomes. Moreover, IP&C practice stands to be significantly altered by climate change and pollution. Here, we describe the complex interdependence between sustainability, climate change, and IP&C, and opportunities for IP&C to be at the leading edge of optimizing healthcare's environmental footprint.Keywords
This publication has 67 references indexed in Scilit:
- Cost-Benefit Analysis from the Hospital Perspective of Universal Active Screening Followed by Contact Precautions for Methicillin-ResistantStaphylococcus aureusCarriersInfection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 2015
- Impact of contact precautions on falls, pressure ulcers and transmission of MRSA and VRE in hospitalized patientsJournal of Hospital Infection, 2014
- Improving waste segregation while reducing costs in a tertiary-care hospital in a lower–middle-income country in Central AmericaWaste Management & Research: The Journal for a Sustainable Circular Economy, 2013
- Surgical waste audit of 5 total knee arthroplastiesCanadian Journal Of Surgery, 2013
- Estimating Health Care-Associated Infections and Deaths in U.S. Hospitals, 2002Public Health Reports®, 2007
- Safety of Patients Isolated for Infection ControlJAMA, 2003
- Shutting Down Operating Theater Ventilation When the Theater Is Not in Use: Infection Control and Environmental AspectsInfection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 2003
- Scissors: A Potential Source of Nosocomial InfectionInfection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 2002
- Clinical and economic consequences of nosocomial catheter-related bacteriuriaAmerican Journal of Infection Control, 2000
- THE NATIONAL Conference on Hospital-Acquired Staphylococcal Disease.1958