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Abstract

The foundation of patient and healthcare worker safety depends on Infection prevention and control (IPC) especially when dealing with new infectious diseases and worldwide pandemics like COVID-19. Healthcare institutions need to evaluate their IPC systems because this process reveals important weaknesses that lead to better public health results. The research evaluated IPC practices together with bacteriological risk profiles in public and private healthcare facilities throughout Osh Kyrgyzstan for three years. A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted across 25 healthcare institutions (18 public and 7 private) in Osh from 2021 to 2023. The facilities were selected through stratified purposive sampling to represent both urban and rural contexts. Quantitative data were obtained from institutional records,  laboratory surveillance, and standardized IPC audit checklists developed under the Kyrgyz Ministry of Health’s Order  No. 1062. Data sources included the Regional State Center for Disease Prevention and the State Sanitary and Epidemiological Surveillance Service. Bacteriological data included microbial culture results, antimicrobial resistance profiles,  and infection rates from clinical specimens. Analytical methods included time-series analysis, chi-square tests, multivariate regression, and thematic coding of qualitative audit data. The research showed that IPC compliance remained inconsistent, especially in public healthcare facilities where Staphylococcus aureus and other bacterial contamination levels were high. The private healthcare facilities showed better compliance with IPC standards but instrument sterility and mold growth issues were detected. Osh's public health needs immediate IPC improvements using contemporary sterilisation, staff training, and surveillance. Public health requires IPC framework strengthening in all sectors to prevent hospital-acquired infections‎.

Keywords: Infection prevention and control (IPC), Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), Antimicrobial resistance (AMR), Public vs. Private healthcare, Bacteriological surveillance

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