Understanding Research

Infection preventionists (IPs) are major consumers of information and research, as they use best practices and evidence to improve patient safety and the quality of care. IPs in clinical practice settings use products and services and need the information and research that accompanies these products. Industry Perspectives provides IPs with access to information about the products they use to do their jobs.

To meet the core competencies of the profession as outlined by the Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology (CBIC), IPs need to be able to apply critical reading skills to evaluate research findings, and incorporate research findings into practice through education and consultation. Consistent with the Implementation Science goal of APIC’s Strategic Plan 2020, Industry Perspectives helps to facilitate the implementation of scientific research to prevent infection by opening a pathway to critical information on infection prevention products and services.

Research Resources

Below is a list of resources to assist IPs and other healthcare professionals in reviewing and evaluating research:

• Reading, Writing and Research for Infection Prevention:  Essential Tools for Today’s IP
• An infection preventionist’s guide to evaluating research studies
• What do infection preventionists want to know: Queries of IP Talk and APIC.org
• Writing scientific abstracts
• Let’s publish!! Advancing your abstract to a manuscript
• Journal Club: A venue to advance evidence-based infection prevention practice
• The APIC research agenda: Results from a national survey
• Moving evidence from the literature to the bedside: Report from the APIC Research Task Force
• The New CDC Methodology and the pursuit of an updated guideline for the prevention of SSI