ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Infectious Diseases: Epidemiology and Prevention
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1642119
Evaluating Infection Prevention and Control Programs in Zambian Hospitals using the WHO Infection Prevention and Control Assessment Framework (IPCAF) Tool
Provisionally accepted
Steward Mudenda1*
Joseph Chizimu2
Linus Ndegwa3
Maisa Kasanga2
Ilunga Mutwale2Aubrey Chichonyi Kalungia1
Evelyn Nelima Wesangula4
Adriano Focus Lubanga5
James Mwansa6Martha Mwaba7Amos Yared Massele8
Nyambe Sinyange2Tapfumanei Mashe9Malambo Mutila2Paul Simujayang'ombe2David Lowrance10Kaunda Yamba2
Misheck Shawa1Chie Nakajima11
Yasuhiko Suzuki12John Bwalya Muma1Massimo Sartelli13
Brian Godman14Roma Chilengi2- 1University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
- 2Zambia National Public Health Institute, Lusaka, Zambia
- 3Infection Prevention Network Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya
- 4East Central and Southern Africa Health Community, Arusha, Tanzania
- 5Kamuzu Central Hospital, Lilongwe, Malawi
- 6Lusaka Apex Medical University, Lusaka, Zambia
- 7Zambia Ministry of Health, Lusaka, Zambia
- 8Hubert Kairuki Memorial University, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
- 9Health Systems Strengthening, World Health Organization, Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe
- 10Global Fund, Switerland, Switzerland
- 11Hokkaido Daigaku, Sapporo, Japan
- 12Hokkaido, Sapporo, Japan
- 13Ospedale di Macerata, Macerata, Italy
- 14Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Pretoria, South Africa
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Background: Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) is key to preventing healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This study evaluated the implementation of IPC in Zambian hospitals.We conducted a multicentric cross-sectional study in nine hospitals across Zambia using the WHO IPCAF tool. Data were collected from September 1 to 30, 2024 and analyzed using the self-scoring Excel and IBM SPSS version 25.0.Results: Out of the nine hospitals assessed, four were tertiary-level hospitals while the rest were secondary-level hospitals. Overall, the implementation of IPC core components was intermediate (IPCAF Score of 594 out of 800). Four hospitals had IPCAF scores between 401 and 600, indicating an intermediate level of IPC implementation. Five hospitals scored between 601 and 800, indicating an advanced implementation of IPC in these hospitals. Three tertiary hospitals scored between 601 and 800, demonstrating their advanced implementation of IPC core components.This study found that the overall implementation of IPC in the surveyed hospitals was intermediate, indicating that further improvements were needed. There is a need to provide peerlearning support and strengthen IPC implementation to respond to new or re-emerging infections and AMR in the country and beyond.
Keywords: Healthcare-associated infections, Infection prevention and control, IPCAF, antimicrobial resistance, Zambia
Received: 06 Jun 2025; Accepted: 12 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Mudenda, Chizimu, Ndegwa, Kasanga, Mutwale, Kalungia, Wesangula, Lubanga, Mwansa, Mwaba, Yared Massele, Sinyange, Mashe, Mutila, Simujayang'ombe, Lowrance, Yamba, Shawa, Nakajima, Suzuki, Bwalya Muma, Sartelli, Godman and Chilengi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Steward Mudenda, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.