Infection control in the acute care setting: time for a change of perspective

Despite widespread acceptance of the need for better compliance with infection control practices in the acute care setting, methods for instilling sustainable changes in the habits of healthcare workers have been elusive, especially hand hygiene practice. In view of this limited success, a fresh approach is timely. It is contended that such an approach should include consideration of infection control practice improvement as an organisational cultural change issue. Within this framework, an exploration of the conceptual ecologies of healthcare workers using an appropriate qualitative methodology can provide the rich data required to increase the deep-seated understanding that is needed for the construction of improved promotion and education of good infection control practices.