Enhancing Awareness and Training on Infection Control Among Healthcare Workers to Reduce Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs)

Abstract

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) remain a persistent and largely preventable threat to patient safety, health worker protection, and health-system sustainability. Because many HAIs are transmitted through routine care processes, healthcare workers (HCWs) are central to both risk and prevention. This paper examines the role of infection prevention and control (IPC) awareness and training in reducing HAIs in acute and long-term care settings. It reviews the burden and key drivers of HAIs, explains how knowledge, risk perception, and safety culture influence day-to-day IPC behaviors, and synthesizes evidence showing that education is most effective when embedded within multimodal improvement strategies (for example, system change, reminders, monitoring, and feedback). The paper also identifies common barriers to training implementation, including workload pressure, staff turnover, inconsistent supplies, and weak accountability structures. Finally, it proposes practical, evidence-informed approaches to strengthening IPC awareness and competency-based training, such as role-specific onboarding, simulation and bedside coaching, audit-and-feedback, leadership engagement, and integration of IPC competencies into quality governance. Overall, sustained IPC education is a cornerstone of HAI prevention and a high-value investment that improves patient outcomes, supports antimicrobial stewardship, and promotes workforce resilience.