Infection Prevention and Control Awareness

About this course.

This course raises awareness of infection prevention and control (IPC) so that you can help stop the spread of infection and protect yourself, colleagues and the people you support. Infections can cause serious illness and, in vulnerable people, can be fatal — but simple, consistent measures dramatically reduce the risk. In Australia, healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) remain a substantial cause of avoidable harm, and the large majority are preventable. The most powerful single tool against them — clean hands — costs almost nothing. The course explains what infection prevention and control is, the law and responsibilities, how infection spreads (the chain of infection), how to assess the risk, and the practical control measures — standard precautions, hand hygiene, personal protective equipment (PPE), asepsis, cleaning, the safe handling of sharps and waste, and dealing with bodily fluids — that break the chain of infection.

It uses Australian terminology and refers to the frameworks Australian health and aged care providers work to: the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Preventing and Controlling Infections Standard, the Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Infection in Healthcare, and the strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards. Whether you work in a hospital, residential aged care, home care, a dental practice, a general practice, a childcare service, a school, a salon or a food business, the principles are the same. You do not need to be a clinician to make a real difference. By the end of the course you should understand why IPC matters, recognise your own responsibilities, and be able to apply the everyday precautions that protect the people around you.