Infection control link nurses in acute care hospitals: Strategies to improve implementation and effectiveness

Infection control link nurses (ICLN) act as a link between colleagues in their own clinical area and the infection prevention and control team. They help to raise awareness for infection control by educating colleagues and motivating them to improve practice. To fulfil this role, link nurses are trained by infection control practitioners. Programs to train and support ICLN vary in the way they are organized and implemented. In this thesis, the elements that influence the successful engagement of ICLN in acute care hospitals were systematically explored and described. The aim was to explain how current programs could be improved to support ICLN, to evaluate the effectiveness of ICLN programs in improving compliance with infection prevention and control guidelines and, finally, to provide strategies for further implementation of these programs.