The evaluation of the infection preventionist competencies needed and acquired by the St. Jude Intensive Infection Control (SJ IPC) Course in the Portuguese Language

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Abstract Background Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are a major cause of morbidity and mortality among children with cancer in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). A competent infection prevention and control (IPC) workforce is critical to reducing this burden. The St. Jude (SJ) IPC Course in Portuguese is a blended program offering eight weeks of online learning followed by one week of in-person sessions for Portuguese-speaking healthcare professionals (HCPs). Most participants are infection preventionists (IPs), often without formal certification or clear job descriptions. This study aimed to align current IP roles with course content and identify unmet training needs. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 28 Brazilian HCPs attending the 2025 SJ IPC Course. A 32-item questionnaire, based on IPC guidelines, was used to assess the course’s impact and participants’ professional responsibilities. Items were grouped into six core domains: infectious disease identification, surveillance, prevention of transmission, occupational health, leadership/communication, and education/research. For each item, participants answered three questions: 1) Course effectiveness: “Was the SJ IPC Course helpful in improving your IP knowledge and skills as applied to this activity?” (5-point Likert scale: strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, strongly disagree);2) Interest in further learning: “Would you like to learn more about this activity?” (Yes/No); 3) Current work practice: “Is this activity part of your current work as an IP in your hospital?” (Frequency scale: always, almost always, half of the time, almost never, never). Responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results All 28 participants completed the survey, representing 17 cities across Brazil’s five regions. Over 90% agreed or strongly agreed that the course improved their knowledge across more than 90% of the IPC activities. Most expressed interest in additional training in nearly all domains. However, over 50% of the activities included in a standard IP job description were not part of their current responsibilities, highlighting a gap between role expectations and daily practice. Conclusion The SJ IPC Course effectively meets the educational needs of Brazilian HCPs working in IPC roles. However, the findings underscore the need to strengthen alignment between IPC training and actual practice. Tailored, practical education is essential to improve IPC capacity and reduce infection-related mortality in pediatric oncology.

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