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Open research questions in Infection Control in Healthcare

26 unresolved questions extracted from the limitations and future-work sections of 617 Infection Control in Healthcare papers in our library. Each links back to the study that raised it.

What the literature leaves open

  • These findings suggest that general IPC exposure may support broad precautionary behaviour, but disease-spe- cific understanding of hantavirus transmission, preven- tion and clinical recognition remains insufficient.

    Hantavirus preparedness among undergraduate nursing students in the United Arab Emirates: a cross-sectional study of knowledge, risk perception and preventive practice · 2026 · DOI

  • BackgroundThe choice of hand-drying method affects microbial contamination levels but its economic consequences have not been systematically quantified.

    The economic gains of tissue papers hygiene benefits · 2026 · DOI

  • Self-reported and observation-based adherence measures were found to be imbalanced at baseline in this study; this imbalance should be further explored in future studies using truly randomized designs and with objective HAI incidence data from microbiological surveillance to validate self-reported and observation-based adherence measures.

    Assessment of Nursing Interventions and Adherence to Infection Prevention and Control Practices among Paediatric Nurses in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano State, Nigeria · 2026 · DOI

  • As previously stated, some phases of the study were not under the control of the researchers. Specifically, health professionals responsible for operating the instrument did not close the venti- lation grilles. If left open, these grilles can cause ozone dispersion, making it difficult to achieve the concentration required for microbicidal effect. It was not possible to monitor the ozone concentration in the air, unlike other authors10,24 and this aspect represents a limitation. With regard to statistical power, the small sample size and the performed nonparametric tests may yield biased results and for this reason they must be considered as exploratory. Moreover, the unknown colonization status of the patients and possible other differences may also affect our results. Acknowledgments. None. Financial support. This research received no external funding. Competing interests. All authors report no conflicts of interest relevant to this article.

    Effectiveness of gaseous ozone in reducing microbial contamination: evaluation of environmental disinfection in healthcare settings · 2026 · DOI

  • The design of a laboratory study was chosen because of the need to control for inhalation exposure. To reduce the contribution of endogenous ethanol formation the study par- ticipants were asked to restrict their carbohydrate intake to define a standardized low baseline of blood ethanol at the start, during the exposure and wash out period. To enhance the real-world relevance, healthcare workers were enrolled as study participants. They introduced their routine to apply ABHRs as experienced users, resulting in a realistic assess- ment of the procedure and presumably greater reproducibil- ity than would be expected with less experienced users. We invited healthcare workers who also routinely use hygienic disinfection products combined with wet-work tasks, includ- ing the use of detergent/soap and are familiar glove users. This was supported by a medical exam of the skin during the intake interview. The ABHRs were studied in a series with intermittent glove use, creating periods of skin occlusion that may have contributed to effects on skin barrier func- tion particularly for a polar chemical such as ethanol, which has not been studied under these conditions before (Arndt et al., 2024). Such exposure conditions may influence hydra- tion of the skin and specifically the skin barrier function in both the short and long term which is considered relevant to assess a real-world exposure (Tiedeman et al. 2016; Plum et al. 2020). The interpretation of the results was supported by measurement of TEWL before, during and after the use of the disinfection product. Additionally, ambient temperature, relative humidity and ventilation were recorded in all expo- sure settings to secure comparability of the two conditions tested. Repeated blood sampling ethanol analysis was used as primary outcome measure which offers both sensitivity and specificity to generate a concentration-time pattern that could be used to calculate an AUC as the main study find- ing. This is an improvement relative to earlier attempts to study inhalation and dermal absorption by end-exhaled air analysis (Hautemanière et al., 2013) and urinary EtG excre- tion (Arndt et al., 2014). To verify that blood ethanol levels could be related to the disinfection product as exogenous exposure, a small amount of deuterated isotope was added. This substance was analysed in blood to be able to confirm its origin from the hand disinfection product and the ABHR procedure as the source. A limitation is the small sample size and the under-repre- sentation of male healthcare workers in the study group. In a way, this reflects the current gender distribution in the target populationof healthcare workers in hospitals in The Neth- erlands. In follow-up studies with controlled exposures, a larger study sample may allow investigation of host factors to explain interindividual differences in skin type and con- dition, including the filaggrin genotype as a potential con- tributor to skin barrier function (Liljedahl et al., 2024). The study design is relevant to regular ABHR users within the target population and accounts for the use of gloves during patient contact. This is an important con- sideration, because the resulting periods of occlusion may have a significant impact on dermal absorption of ethanol. Consequently, the study findings should be interpreted with caution, and care should be taken when extrapolating the results to other populations or conditions. The experimen- tal setting also has limitations related to standardising the study design for comparison of our findings with those of follow-up studies. We asked the study participants to follow the ABHR protocol, and their level of physical exercise was probably much lower than during a typical workday in a clinical setting. We did not assess ABHR use without inter- mittent wearing of gloves, which may be relevant in some healthcare settings. Real-world conditions would probably result in more variability in exposure, which could translate into even higher variability in blood ethanol concentrations both within a person and between individuals.

    Contribution of dermal ethanol absorption during laboratory-controlled high-frequency use of alcohol-based hand rubs followed by glove use · 2026 · DOI

  • 
 
 
 
 Due to the threat of COVID-19, universities across Malaysia are facing decisions about how to continue teaching and learning whilst keeping their faculty, staff, and students safe from a public health emergency that is fast moving and not well understood.

    Approach to teaching and learning during COVID-19 global pandemic · 2020 · DOI

  • Conclusions: Some respondents did not know the guidelines concerning the "five moments for hand hygiene" by the WHO, and the level of knowledge of those who declared good knowledge of the subject was insufficient.

    Assessment of medical staff’s knowledge concerning the “five moments for hand hygiene” · 2019 · DOI

  • INTRODUCTION AND AIMS: Increasing the frequency with which injecting drug users (IDUs) engage in self-initiated harm reduction strategies could improve their health, but few investigations have examined IDUs' perceived barriers to engaging in these behaviors.

    Injection drug users’ perceived barriers to using self-initiated harm reduction strategies · 2013 · DOI

  • Despite infectious pandemics proving particularly detrimental to those with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), the investigation of analogous experimental paradigms is lacking.

    Reference Architecture Foundation for Service Oriented Architecture Version 1.0 · 2009 · DOI

  • ABSTRACT Hand hygiene is essential for infection control, yet the impact of frequent antiseptic use on the skin microbiome, which is crucial for skin barrier function and pathogen exclusion, remains underexplored, especially in field conditions.

    Longitudinal analysis of the hand microbiome in response to chlorine-based antiseptic use during a military field exercise · 2026 · DOI

  • Systematic assessment of infection risk is essential to support preventive strategies and improve patient safety however remains insufficiently structured in many clinical settings.

    Prevalence and determinants of infection risk in hospitalised adults: a multicentre cross-sectional study using a structured risk assessment tool · 2026 · DOI

  • Field notes highlighted the lack of standard wound assessment and management protocols and resource constraints influencing the nurses' adherence to CPGs on many occasions.

    Surgical Wound Care Practices of Nurses in a Low‐Resourced Setting: An Observational Study · 2026 · DOI

  • The interaction between individual and behavioral factors indicates that improving in- dividual capacity alone is insufficient to prevent NSI.

    The Integration of Individual and Behavioral Factors in Needle Stick Injuries Among Nurses in Hospitals: A Literature Review · 2026 · DOI

  • Occupational health and safety requirements for types and locations of sharps containers, and lack of consensus on what constitutes a sharp, were identified as areas needing attention.

    Audit of waste collected over one week from ten dental practices. A pilot study · 1997 · DOI

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26 open questions have been extracted from the limitations and future-work passages of 617 Infection Control in Healthcare papers in our library. Each one below links back to the study that raised it, so you can read the original claim in context.

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