Antibiotics
Substances that kill bacteria or inhibit the growth of bacteria
A
Antibody
A protein produced by the body’s immune system that destroys infections and other harmful microorganisms
Antimicrobial
A chemical substance that inhibits or destroys bacteria, viruses or fungi, and can be safely administered to human and animals
Antimicrobial Resistance
A microorganism that causes an infection that has developed resistance to the medication used to treat it.
Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS)
The responsible management and use of antimicrobials. Facilities may have AMS programs which involve a range of activities to ensure the appropriate use of antimicrobials.
Antimicrobial use surveillance
An important element of AMS programs is to monitor the volume and types of antimicrobials being administered.
Audits
A systematic review of clinical care against a predetermined set of criteria
Australian Immunisation Handbook
Provides recommendations on which diseases aged and healthcare organisations should prioritise in their workforce screening and vaccination programs
Benchmark
A validated measure that may be used for comparison provided data are collected in the same way as that of the benchmark data. Benchmarks are used to compare HAI rates to data that use the same definitions for infection and are appropriately adjusted for patient risk factors so that meaningful comparisons can be made. Comparing HAI rates to a validated benchmark will indicate whether the rates are below or above the recognized average.
B
Clinical care
Care that includes the prevention, treatment and management of illness or injury, as well as the maintenance of psychosocial, mental and physical well-being.
C
Clostridioides difficile infection
A disease of the large intestine caused by toxins produced by the spore forming bacterium clostridioides difficile
Colonisation
A germ or pathogen is present on a persons’ body, but not causing infection. The person may be at a higher risk of being infected due to the presence of the organism
Consumer
A consumer is someone who will use a service or program. In the case of NISPAC, consumers are largely aged care workers and management as they will be directly using the program, it also includes residents and carers. Each of these consumers will have a different experience with NISPAC because they are engaged with it in different capacities.
Continuous quality improvement
As per the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, continuous quality improvement is a systematic, ongoing effort to raise an organisation’s performance in achieving outcomes for older people under the Aged Care Quality Standards.
Denominator
The lower portion of a fraction used to calculate a rate or ratio. The number of persons in the population during the observation period. Denominators should be limited to the “population at risk” (i.e., persons who have potential to develop the disease and be included in the numerator).