Infection Prevention and Control Standards

The Infection Prevention and Control Standards are developed and approved as outlined in Section 133 of the Health Professions Act (2000). The purpose of this document is to outline the minimum expectations for registrants to protect the health and safety of their clients, themselves, staff, and the public by preventing and reducing the transmission of infection.

Infection prevention and control (IP&C) interventions and activities that are implemented, minimize and eliminate the potential spread of infection in the practice environment. In health-care settings, the immune status of a client may be reduced by the disease, injury, or illness that brought them to that setting. When a susceptible client develops a healthcare-associated infection (HAI) there may be increased length of stay, and increased risk of morbidity and mortality (Canadian Nosocomial Infection Surveillance Program, 2020).

These standards apply at all times to all registrants regardless of role or setting and are specific to registrants engaged in IP&C practices. The standards are grounded in the foundational Practice Standards for Registrants (College of Registered Nurses of Alberta [CRNA], 2023) and the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) Code of Ethics for Registered 
Nurses (2017). The directions, concepts, and principles in this document align with other CRNA documents:

•  Documentation Standards (2022)
•  Guidelines for Hand Hygiene (Alberta College of Pharmacy [ACP], College of Physicians 
  and Surgeons [CPSA], & CRNA, 2016)
•  Guidelines for Medication and Vaccine Injection Safety (ACP, CPSA, & CRNA, 2018)

New and evolving infectious diseases, new research leading to best practices, and advancing technology are constantly changing the practice of IP&C. The key purpose of any IP&C program is to break the chain of transmission to protect clients, staff, and the public from infection.