Under the slogan “Moving the Needle on Infection Prevention,” the Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) will launch the activities for the International Infection Prevention Week (IIPW) from October 13-19, 2024. The campaign highlights the significance of infection prevention and control in healthcare settings to save lives. It targets all PHCC staff and various community groups to raise awareness about the importance of infection prevention, promote proper infection prevention practices, and encourage both the community and healthcare workers to follow appropriate procedures to reduce diseases and fatalities caused by infections.

PHCC is committed to establishing strategies for correct infection prevention practices through health education, lectures, and awareness workshops aimed at reducing microbial transmission rates. The campaign focuses on personal hygiene, hand washing, safe injection practices, and the use of personal protective equipment as key elements in preventing the spread of germs. It will also emphasize comprehensive awareness for PHCC staff and visitors to prevent microbial transmission, as many infections are spread through direct contact between individuals or due to the work environment and offices. It also highlights that poor hand hygiene is a major contributor to the spread of germs and diseases such as seasonal flu and diarrhea.

Healthcare providers have a responsibility to ensure that patients adhere to handwashing to prevent the spread of infection to others in healthcare environments. Healthcare-associated infections are among the leading causes of patient suffering and death in hospitals worldwide, underscoring the importance of infection prevention as a cornerstone of patient safety. 

Dr. Khalid Elawad, Health Protection Manager at PHCC, stated that PHCC will join the global celebration of IIPW by disseminating awareness messages emphasizing the importance of infection prevention and control within PHCC health centers and among patients, visitors, and healthcare workers. He stressed the need to highlight infection control practices to protect patients and keep them safe from health risks in healthcare settings. 

Elawad added that PHCC is working to prevent various infection-related risks within its centers, including stopping the transmission of germs by ensuring the availability of alcohol-based hand sanitizers and promoting handwashing with soap and water. The corporation will organize events and distribute brochures and leaflets to reinforce infection control concepts and hand hygiene among visitors to health centers, considering that hands are a primary means of spreading many infectious diseases either through direct handshakes or indirectly by touching contaminated surfaces. Infection control prevents the spread of infections in healthcare settings, and IIPW is celebrated globally to focus on the importance of infection prevention activities and their implementation in healthcare centers to reduce infection transmission. 

PHCC will join the rest of the world in this campaign from October 13 to 19, 2024. PHCC’s Infection Prevention and Control team has prepared various activities and competitions with prizes to engage staff and patients at its health centers. Additionally, the team coordinated with the Corporate Communications and Public Relations team to promote the campaign within the community through media outlets and PHCC’s social media platforms. They have produced awareness cards and videos, along with educational lectures in both Arabic and English on the official PHCC social media accounts. Daily lectures for healthcare center staff will be held throughout the week, focusing on hand hygiene and safe injection practices. PHCC staff will also receive daily text messages about infection prevention and control. A survey will be conducted for patients and visitors regarding the infection prevention activities. Among these activities will be a competition for the best video and the best healthcare center preparing a dedicated area to promote the campaign by healthcare providers. 

Patients at PHCC health centers will also be encouraged to participate in the campaign. Designated areas will provide educational materials and brochures that will be distributed to participating patients in the awareness campaign.