As the recipient of the APH Strategic Research Grant for the year 2021, APH-researcher Mireille Dekker shares an update on the progress of her research project on the developments and highlights of INCIP (Implementation of an Infection Control Link Nurse Program in Acute Care Hospitals).

Dekker: "One of the key goals of INCIP is to promote the valorization of results from my dissertation. This is achieved through the formation of a co-creation panel, consisting of experts in infection prevention and nurses from 10 Dutch hospitals, with involvement of staff advisors and patient representatives from Amsterdam UMC. To date, seven of the planned eight co-creation meetings have taken place, with active discussions and reflections leading to valuable insights into effective elements of link nurse programs, influential contextual factors and implementation strategies. Between meetings, participants test these elements and strategies in their daily practice, creating a continuous cycle of feedback and improvement leading to the development of various knowledge products, such as a role profile for link nurses, an overview of suitable implementation strategies, and a link nurse training program. These will eventually be freely available online, allowing them to have a broad impact within the healthcare sector.

Through focus group interviews we will research adoption and dissemination of knowledge within the participating hospitals. Additionally, we are collaborating with leading researchers in the field of Implementation Science to develop a theoretical model, enabling us to generate hypotheses about the influence of implementation strategies on various outcomes at both implementation and service levels.

As part of my personal development, I have achieved various goals, including a work visit to a research group of implementation researchers at Linköping University in Sweden. Additionally, I am actively involved in the Amsterdam Center for Implementation Research, where I contribute to various education and training activities. I have also further developed my teaching and supervision skills through participation in the Superb Supervision course and supervision of various junior researchers and students.

Thanks in part to this APH Grant, I have been appointed a permanent position as a researcher within the Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, where I contribute to the development of the research line on the implementation of infection prevention.

With thanks to the support of APH and my colleagues, the INCIP project continues to make strides towards better implementation of infection prevention in acute care hospitals. I look forward to keeping you further informed of our progress in the future."