Nosocomial infections pose a major public health challenge for our nation. They are responsible for severe morbidity and over 20,000 deaths per year. They place a strain on the financial and personnel resources of health car institutions. It is the Infection Control Practitioner (ICP) who must implement programs that attempt to address this problem. To produce a quality infection control program, an ICP must be proficient in a number o disciplines, and must be able to communicate the essentials of infection control to other health professionals. This is a time- consuming task for an already overburdened individual. The proposed Infection Control Packet would include an annotated bibliography and slides which will complement an Infection Control Topic Outline. Phase I would develop the topic: Infection Control in Respiratory Therapy. Phase II would develop eleven additional infection control topics. The Phase I and II Infection Control Packets will be able to be utilized alone or in combination, and will serve as an aid and a guide for the development of lecture and educational programs given by ICP's. These products will meet an already pressing demand in hospitals, extended care facilities, and day care centers.National Institute for Nursing Research (NINR)
