Browne and Mitchell (2023) explain that, "Infection transmission in healthcare is multifaceted and by in large involves the complex interplay between a pathogen, a host and their environment. To prevent transmission, infection prevention strategies must also consider these complexities and incorporate targeted interventions aimed at all possible transmission pathways."

They add that one strategy to prevent and control infection is environmental cleaning, and say they believe the key to successfully reducing the risk of healthcare-associated infections through the environment is to design and implement a multimodal intervention. Their paper aims to provide an overview of important considerations for designing a meaningful and sustainable environmental program for healthcare facilities.

In their paper the researchers present important considerations when designing multimodal environmental cleaning strategies to prevent healthcare-associated infections. The focus of their review is hospital settings and cleaning approaches primarily delivered by cleaning or environmental services staff; however, the general principles are applicable to the wider healthcare settings, the researchers say: "For example, aged-care facilities, imaging centers, general practice and office-based practice may have different needs and therefore different environmental cleaning approaches."

In all settings, they emphasize, it is important to conduct a thorough risk assessment prior to implementing environmental cleaning initiatives.

Reference: Browne K and Mitchell BG. Multimodal environmental cleaning strategies to prevent healthcare-associated infections. Antimicrobial Resistance & Infection Control. Vol. 12, article number 83 (2023).