Introduction

Patients receiving hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis are at high risk of infection due to repeated vascular access, frequent healthcare contact, comorbidities, and potential breaches in aseptic technique during treatment. Dialysis-related infections—such as bloodstream infections, access-site infections, exit-site/tunnel infections, and peritonitis—can lead to hospitalization, access loss, antimicrobial resistance, and significant mortality. The Dialysis Infection Prevention Program is designed to build strong, practice-oriented competence in standard precautions, access care, environmental cleaning, equipment reprocessing, water safety awareness, and surveillance-driven quality improvement—helping dialysis teams prevent infection while maintaining safe and efficient unit workflows.

Scope

This program covers infection prevention measures across dialysis settings, including:

• Infection risks specific to dialysis: device-related, procedure-related, and environmental pathways
• Standard precautions and transmission-based precautions in dialysis units
• Hand hygiene, PPE use, and safe workflow zoning (clean vs contaminated areas)
• Vascular access safety: AV fistula/graft care, catheter hub disinfection, dressing care, and access cannulation best practices
• Peritoneal dialysis infection prevention: exchange technique safety, exit-site care, and peritonitis prevention principles
• Safe injection practices and medication handling in dialysis areas
• Environmental cleaning and disinfection: surfaces, chairs, machines, high-touch points, and spill management
• Dialysis equipment handling and reprocessing principles, including common risk points
• Dialysis water and dialysate safety awareness (program-level overview aligned to facility protocols)
• Outbreak readiness, audit tools, staff competency validation, and continuous improvement practices

Objectives

By the end of the program, participants will be able to:

• Identify common sources and transmission routes of dialysis-related infections
• Apply standardized infection prevention practices consistently before, during, and after dialysis sessions
• Perform safe vascular access care, including correct hub/port disinfection and dressing management
• Implement peritoneal dialysis infection prevention principles to reduce exit-site infections and peritonitis risk
• Strengthen safe medication and injection practices in dialysis settings
• Improve unit compliance using checklists, audits, and feedback mechanisms
• Support surveillance-oriented monitoring and quality improvement to sustain infection reduction outcomes

Who can enroll

This program is suitable for professionals involved in dialysis delivery and dialysis unit infection prevention, including:

• Dialysis nurses and dialysis technicians
• Nephrologists, physicians, residents, and interns working with dialysis patients
• Infection Prevention & Control (IPC) professionals and infection control nurses
• Quality managers, patient safety officers, clinical auditors, and accreditation coordinators
• Dialysis unit managers, nursing educators, and clinical trainers
• Allied health staff supporting dialysis services and unit operations

Study content on TERRALEAP.COM

Participants receive structured learning resources through TERRALEAP.COM, including:

To support learning and practical implementation, this program includes videos and PDF-based study resources provided through TERRALEAP.COM.