Abstract:

Infection prevention and control (IPC) is crucial for the prevention of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in healthcare facilities (HFs). The World Health Organization (WHO) published eight core components (CCs) of IPC to guide IPC program implementation in HFs. WHO also developed the IPC Assessment Framework (IPCAF) tool to assess the level of IPC program implementation and identify areas for improvement in HFs. We conducted a cross-sectional study in Nov 2024 using the IPCAF tool by extracting data from February 2020 IPCAF reports from 45 HFs in Rohingya refugee camps. Conducted descriptive analysis using SPSS 29 for each IPC CC, total IPC scores per HF and level of IPC promotion and practices obtained. 46.7% of HFs scored as inadequate, 37.8% scored as basic, 11.1% as intermediate level and 4.4% scored as an advanced level of IPC. 71% of the HFs did not have an IPC program, 84% lacked standard precaution guidelines, 60% had not provided any IPC training and none conducted HAI surveillance. 69% of the HFs did not follow the multimodal strategy for IPC while 82% did not monitor IPC activities. 71% of HFs had appropriate staffing, workload and bed occupancy and 51.1% of HFs had functional hand hygiene stations at all points of care. There were no HFs in the Rohingya refugee camps with fully implemented IPC programs in 2020. An IPC program that aims at implementing all core components of the IPC program should be considered for HFs in Cox’s Bazar refugee camps and similar settings.

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