Evidence Based Content

The recommendations for practice made in the NIPCM are based on living systematic literature reviews.  Any changes identified in the scientific literature may lead to a change being made to the NIPCM following stakeholder engagement.

Literature reviews are undertaken following agreed processes for evidence identification and appraisal as well as following defined governance structures before publication on the NIPCM. Details on the research methods and terms used can be found in the Development Methodology document.

The scientific evidence for the NIPCM is reviewed on a real time basis and details of the reviews reported quarterly.

•  NIPCM Quarterly evidence reviews

Please note that changes to the methodology are currently being piloted with the IPC Working Groups to increase transparency and improve rigour of development of the NIPCM. Following approval by the ARHAI Scotland IPC Oversight and Advisory Group, the development process will be updated.  It is anticipated that review of the pilot methodology will be complete by December 2024. The draft methodology is available to view.

SBAR tools 

Statement: Please note that SBARs published before December 2023 make reference to alcohol based hand rub (ABHR). As of date 11 January 2024 this is now referred to as hand rub in the NIPCM based on the updated recommendations in the hand products literature review (with the exception of surgical hand antisepsis which has its own body of research).

An SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation) is a communication tool presented in 4 standardised sections that allow organisations to present key information and communicate it in a clear and concise way. SBARs are often used in healthcare settings to:

• facilitate communication about patient care between healthcare workers; and/or
• present the results of an evidence review to inform evidence-based practice in healthcare settings.

View ARHAI SBARs 

ARHAI Scotland Publications

ARHAI Scotland have published in scientific journals

• Cryptococcus neoformans/Cryptococcus gattii species complex infections with recommendations for practice in health and care settings
• Infection prevention and control factors associated with post-cataract surgery endophthalmitis - a review of the literature from 2010 – 2023

Literature reviews

• Decontamination and built environment
• Hand hygiene
• Incidents and outbreaks
• Management of care equipment
• Management of the care environment
• Patient management
• Pandemic response
• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
• Transmission Based Precautions definitions