Research
Report on Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Assessments in Primary Health Care Facilities for Burundi
1. Background
Réseau Burundais pour la Prévention et Contrôle des infections (RBPCI) is supporting the MoH of Burundi in strengthening IPC programs. To actualize this, RBPCI developed an IPC assessment tool based on 8 pillars of IPC. The tool applies to the facility level with the objective of improving the capacity and practices of infection prevention and control by generating actionable results. The tool focuses on various aspects of IPC, including program structure, training and education, policies and guidelines, communication and collaboration, and surveillance and monitoring, HAIs, PPE, Hand Hygiene and cleaning, Multimodal strategy and antimicrobial stewardship. In this specific case, the assessment has been done in primary care facilities where cholera outbreak was ongoing.
2. Methods
The assessment was conducted in 46 target health facilities in the area commonly known as the cholera belt, where cholera epidemics recur.
The data has been collected in the kobo collect system. The assessment followed an earlier orientation meeting with the team of Ministry of Health (MoH) officials on the use of the assessment tool. Microsoft Excel was used for data cleaning and analysis of the collected IPC survey data. Public facilities located in the cholera belt (the zone where the cholera epidemic is re-emerging) were the types of facilities that participated in the survey.
3. Summary of IPC findings
Of the 46 HCFs assessed, 93% do not have an IPC program and 87% do not have an IPC team. Regarding policies and guidelines, the results showed that most health facilities (89%) did not have such documents. Regarding staff training on IPC, 85% of the health facilities responded that they do not provide training on IPC to their staff. The results also show that 89% of the health facilities have not yet established a system for monitoring health-careassociated infections. In terms of monitoring and reporting on audits of IPC practices, 87% do not regularly monitor IPC practices. Regarding the use of multimodal IPC strategies and antimicrobial stewardship, the results show that 70% do not have the fixed programs.
4. Conclusion
The IPC survey in 46 Health Care Facilities of Burundi revealed an overview of IPC status in the country. The targeted healthcare facilities provided valuable insights on the IPC system in Burundi. All the integral components of IPC such as the IPC program, training and education, policies and guidelines, multimodal strategies, surveillance and monitoring and antimicrobial stewardship were relatively weak when compared against the expected results in the assessment tool. To remediate the challenges identified, there is need for an active IPC program and dedicated IPC team which should be stationed at all hospitals. In the same token, adequate supplies including PPE, hand hygiene stations and cleaning supplies should be supplied to the facilities and always made available.
5. Acknowledgement
MoH of Burundi
RBPCI
Operational Centre for Public Health Emergencies