What is this survey: A WHO multi-level global survey on the implementation of the minimum requirements for IPC at both the national and health care facility levels using assessment tools accessible online via the WHO IPC Portal.
What are the objectives of this survey:
- To offer countries the opportunity to assess their current implementation status of the WHO minimum requirements for IPC programmes at the national and facility level through the WHO IPC Portal, and gather their results and guidance from WHO to make improvement plans.
- To gather a baseline situational analysis of the implementation of the IPC minimum requirements at the national and facility levels to enable tracking of some indicators included in the monitoring framework of the global action plan 2024-2030 on IPC, and compare it with other available assessments, when appropriate.
IMPORTANT UPDATE:
NEW Timeline: this survey will be open from 22 November 2023 to 20 April 2024
How the survey works:
The survey is on two major levels, national and facility, and uses the following structured, closed-formatted questionnaires:
National level survey
- Assessment tool of the minimum requirements for IPC programmes at the national level (IPCAT-MR), covering a total of 25 indicators. This tool is primarily intended to be self-administered, but can also be used for joint assessments through careful discussions with stakeholders, including the WHO HQ, regional or country offices.
Facility level survey
- Assessment tool on infection prevention and control minimum requirements for primary health care facilities, covering a total of 26 indicators
- Assessment tool on infection prevention and control minimum requirements for secondary health care facilities, covering a total of 37 indicators
- Assessment tool on infection prevention and control minimum requirements for tertiary health care facilities, covering a total of 45 indicators
Participants should only choose and complete the tool appropriate for their facility level (primary, secondary or tertiary health care facility).
All tools are structured according to the recommendations of the WHO minimum requirements for IPC programmes. They are divided into six (national level) and eight (facility level) sections reflecting the WHO IPC core components (Guidelines on core components of IPC programmes at the national and acute health care facility level) and minimum requirements at the respective level ( see the technical document). Users should become familiar with these documents before completing the tools.
For this survey, all tools are available in English, French, Spanish and Russian. The IPCAT-MR is also available in Arabic and Chinese. The WHO Global IPC Portal will be used for data submission. On average, each tool should take about an hour to complete. Both at national and facility level, the related tool needs to be completed only once
Survey enrollment:
National IPC focal points in ministries of health or other governmental organizations will be contacted through WHO regional and country offices by email invitation, and will be provided with a summary of the project, instructions and a link to the WHO Global IPC Portal.
The proposed role for the national IPC focal points is the following:
- To lead the completion of the national part of the survey, that is IPCAT-MR, through the WHO IPC portal, in collaboration with the national IPC team and other stakeholders, as appropriate.
- To invite health care facilities across all levels of care and possibly, both public and private in their countries to participate, and depending on the available capacity and organization of the health system, to coordinate their participation, including providing WHO with the list of the facility focal points who will submit the data to the WHO Global IPC Portal and follow-up accordingly. Each country (national level) and facility (facility level) will complete and submit the survey only once. Participation will be voluntary.
Additionally, health care facilities will also be invited to participate by WHO through existing networks at regional and global level, such as the WHO Global IPC Network (GIPCN) or the SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands campaign.
If you are interested in enrolling or have any questions, please contact us at ipcportal@who.int.