Letter to the Editor by Erika Murray to “Consistent Infection Prevention: Vital During Routine and Emerging Infectious Diseases Care”

July 13, 2024

Response by Erika Murray to “Consistent Infection Prevention: Vital During Routine and Emerging Infectious Diseases Care” by Terri Rebmann and Ruth Carrico (January 31, 2017).

Dear Editor,

The importance of practicing due diligence in the realm of infection prevention and control (IPAC), as outlined in Rebmann and Carrico’s 2017 article “Consistent Infection Prevention: Vital During Routine and Emerging Infectious Diseases Care,” manifested into reality in the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Between January 2020 and May 2021, global organizations such as the International Council of Nurses (ICN) suggested that approximately 115,000 healthcare workers, including nurses, died because of COVID-19 (ICN, 2021). Most of these deaths were attributed to a lack of preparedness in containing the devastating viral outbreak (ICN, 2021).

Marani et al. (2021), suggests the chance of us experiencing another COVID-19-like event can be as high as 76%, but currently sit at 38%. This should be a massive wake-up call for the direction we are headed. From an IPAC perspective, we need to address the root causes of novel and re-emerging diseases from a proactive, rather than a reactive method.

Marani et al. (2021) and Baker et al. (2022), cite climate change as one of the most significant catalysts in the ever-changing microbiological landscape. As nurses, we need to re-envision our role beyond maintaining human health as isolated to the human body. Instead, we must integrate the idea of planetary health as part of human health. Planetary health factors in how humans interact with the environment and other species, and these interactions can lead to adverse environmental outcomes. One example is the increased incidence of malaria and other vector-borne diseases in areas where they were previously not found. Contributing factors include human-made pollution, which led to climate change and subsequently led to warmer temperatures and environments that are more hospitable for disease vectors like ticks and mosquitoes (Thomson & Stanberry, 2022). The interrelation of humans and the environment needs to play a vital role in nursing advocacy to promote sustainability policies and environmentalism. Nursing advocacy in environmentalism also supports a focus on a social justice. From the United States to countries all around the world, it has been well-studied that racialized, lower-income, medically vulnerable people, the very young and the very old, will be the individuals most impacted by diseases brought on by climate change (Berberian et al, 2022).

Nurses have a responsibility, as frontline providers, to be part of the interdisciplinary mission to combat climate change and promote IPAC. As a profession, we must act now. We must work together to implement regular professional development, support IPAC nurse ambassadors on units who can promote diligence in routine and outbreak practices, and re-frame our social justice and ethical obligations through nursing education. COVID-19 has shown us that no country is immune from the impact of infectious disease. We must work proactively and collaboratively, heeding scholars' warnings to ensure a healthy future.

Erika Murray, BScN; MScN student.
Email: ejuhasz@uwo.ca