Dr Jessica Schults 1,2
1The University Of Queensland, 2 Herston Infectious Diseases Institute, Metro North Health
Biography:
Jessica is a Senior Research Fellow based at the Herston Infectious Diseases Institute and The University of Queensland. A previous paediatric critical care nurse, Jess has extensive clinical experience in critical care, with a particular passion for ventilator associated infections. Jessica’s research program aims to reduce the burden of healthcare-associated infections through better hospital surveillance, safer invasive device care, and rapid translation of evidence.
Abstract:
Infection prevention and control (IPC) is an essential component of safe, high-quality healthcare. The evidence base underpinning IPC must evolve rapidly in response to emerging threats, technology and infrastructure demands. Traditional guideline development processes, typically revised every few years, are failing to keep pace with this rate of change, resulting in recommendations which may become outdated or inconsistently applied.
Living guidelines offer a continuous and systematic approach to maintaining current, high-quality recommendations. Through structured evidence surveillance, rapid synthesis, and iterative updating, living guidelines enable timely incorporation of new research findings into clinical and policy decision-making.
Session objectives are to:
• Describe the concept and value of living guidelines as a mechanism for maintaining up-to-date, evidence-based IPC recommendations.
• Highlight the role of the Australian Living Evidence Collaboration (ALEC) in supporting national capacity for continuous evidence surveillance and synthesis in IPC.
• Discuss how living guideline processes can be integrated into clinical workflows including barriers and facilitators.
• Apply learnings from practical examples of living guideline used nationally.
Early Australian experience demonstrates that a coordinated, living evidence model can strengthen consistency, accelerate translation, and support a learning health system approach to infection prevention. By embedding continuous evidence synthesis within routine practice, living guidelines have the potential to transform IPC policy and practice, ensuring recommendations remain current and responsive to emerging health system priorities.