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. 2021 Mar 5;11(3):e044971. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-044971

Table 2.

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion Exclusion
Population/setting Patients in hospitals or other healthcare settings.
Any kind of healthcare professionals such as doctors, nurses, epidemiologists, microbiologists and nursing care home staff.		 Non-healthcare professionals such as cleaning staff.
Healthcare professionals in non-clinical setting such as class room or learning laboratory.
Intervention  All infection prevention and control measures by ICT with or without ICLN system such as:

  •  Formulating and revising policies/guidelines.

  •  Performing surveillance of HCAIs.

  •  Training and educating healthcare professionals.

  •  Monitoring and auditing practices and standard of care.

  •  Liaising with other staff and departments.


 The intervention can be of any duration and frequency.

  •  Outbreak management.

  •  Infection control measures for HIV, tuberculosis and malaria.
Comparison Any intervention or usual care.  
Outcome Patient-based/clinical outcomes

  1. Rate of HCAIs.

  2. Death due to HCAIs.

  3. Length of hospital stay.


Staff-based/behavioural outcomes
1. Compliance with infection control practices.
Additional outcomes
1. Cost of healthcare system or patients.		 Hand hygiene compliance.
Rate of antimicrobial prescription.
Study design Randomised control trial (individual or cluster).

  1. Intervention studies (experimental) without control groups.

  2. Intermittent time series.

  3. Observational studies (non-experimental).

  4. Cohort (retrospective and prospective).

  5. Case–control.

  6. Case series.

  7. Cross-sectional.

  8. Ecological.

  9. Reviews.

  10. Expert opinion or consensus.

  11. Editorial letter.

  12. Guideline.

  13. Implementation.

  14. Commentary.

  15. Outbreak reports.
Period No limitation.  
Language English language only.  

HCAIs, healthcare-associated infections.