The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has launched a new infection control training course series.

The series will include 11 courses. The first two — available now — focus on hand hygiene and competency-based training. The courses are part of the new CDC/States Targeting Reduction in Infections via Engagement (STRIVE) curriculum, which was developed by infection prevention experts led by the Health Research & Educational Trust (HRET) for CDC.

The STRIVE curriculum will include more than 40 individual training modules. The CDC states that individual modules can be used for new employee training, annual infection prevention training and periodic training. They will be grouped into 11 courses that focus on foundational and targeted infection prevention strategies.

The courses are broken down as follows:

Foundational Infection Prevention Strategies

• Hand hygiene

• Competency-based training

• Strategies for preventing healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs)

• Environmental cleaning

• Personal protective equipment (PPE)

• Patient and family engagement

Targeted Infection Prevention Strategies

• Catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI)

• Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia

• Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI)

• Central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI)

All courses are free and offer continuing education.

Learn more about STRIVE and access the first two courses available here.