Ms Carrie Spinks1
1Australasian College For Infection Prevention And Control, Hobart, Australia
Biography:
Carrie is an experienced Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) consultant with advanced nursing and postgraduate qualifications. She has extensive clinical and leadership experience across Australia and the UK, specialising for 20 years in aged care operations, governance, and IPC. She works for ACIPC, supporting development/delivery of IPC education and resources.
Abstract:
The aged care sector has faced significant infection prevention and control (IPC) challenges, including workforce capability, access to resources, geographic isolation, and the need for consistent IPC guidance. While some challenges remain, substantial improvement has occurred across the sector in recent years. To support ongoing improvement, the Australasian College for Infection Prevention and Control (ACIPC) established an aged care Community of Practice (COP), providing IPC resources, education, networking, and expert support.
This review examines the reach, utilisation, and evolution of the COP over a 2-year period. Reach will be explored through webinar participant demographics and geographic representation, providing insight into engagement nationally and internationally.
Utilisation will be evaluated through analysis of website activity, discussion forum participation and themes, webinar registrations and attendance, and engagement with key COP resources, including Aged Care News and Events, Templates and Tools, the IPC Training Hub, and IPC in Focus presentations.
The review also examines the evolution of the COP in response to sector priorities, reforms, and stakeholder feedback, including the expansion and diversification of educational offerings, resources, learning opportunities, and practical support mechanisms.
Preliminary observations suggest engagement varies according to emerging IPC issues, sector priorities, and topics of interest, with activity across multiple COP functions and progressive expansion of resources over time. The review is expected to demonstrate the value of a responsive, sector-specific COP in supporting knowledge sharing, workforce capability, and continuous improvement across aged care. Lessons learned will inform future development of sustainable IPC support networks across aged care and other healthcare settings.