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Importance of hand hygiene in nursing essay
Effect of hand hygiene on the health care system
Effect of hand hygiene on the health care system
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HYGIENE AS AN INTEGRAL ASPECT OF NURSING CARE
SIGNIFICANCE OF HYGIENE AS AN INTEGRAL ASPECT OF NURSING CARE
Hygiene can be defined as the maintenance of the body and environment in a favourable condition necessary for growth and healthy living. The importance of hygiene cannot be over emphasised, it is very important to maintain a high level of hygiene at all times as well as our environments. The importance of oral hygiene is taught to keep the mouth clean and free from bacteria and food particles leading to dental caries or loss of tooth. It is essential to maintain a hygienic condition especially by washing hands with soap and water regularly, after using the toilet, before and after eating, before and after attending to patients,
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Implementation of hygiene activities is of utmost importance as these leads to prevention of diseases. The implementation program on hygiene requires that nursing leaders or executive be involved in the planning and execution of planned hygiene program for it to be a success, it should be made simple and understandable by everybody so that there will be reception by the health workers, for example handing washing technique is not a time consuming task and not critical enough to prevent people from adopting the skill. Hand washing hygiene should be a continuous practice and should never be stopped once commenced, it is necessary for the required material needed for hand wash to be made available at all times and positioned in places not far from either the patient or the health care provider. The method of proper hand wash technique should be taught to healthcare provider effectively and made simple as possible to understand. It is important that this programme is followed religiously and maintained as evaluation of the programme is necessary to signify the compliance rate and effectiveness of the …show more content…
All these has helped in the maintenance of a high level of hygiene in the current workplace. USEFULNESS OF HYGIENE TO THE CURRENT WORK
For the implementation of hygiene to be useful in this current world, there must be sufficient basic amenities supplied by the government, increased financial budgeting towards the provision of social amenities like pipe borne water, electricity, good roads, good drainage systems, proper management system have to be in place to check the use of the amenities and people should be able to pay for service rendered to maintain the services and proper handling of such amenities. Adequate provision of good water supply promote personal and environmental hygiene, if a community is to be considered healthy which is not the case in this present world, there have to be adequate provision of good sanitation, safe water and proper disposal of waste . Quick Facts
2.5 Million People lack access to improved
Good oral hygiene is an essential part of nursing care and if left undone can lead to larger problems such as increased risk for pneumonia, tooth loss, mucosal lesions, and increased complications of comorbidities (Delgado, 2016). There needs to be a revision to the current oral care policy because oral hygiene is not being performed on the residents. This policy will benefit the patients and the facility. Patients will benefit from better oral hygiene thus reducing the risk of overall infection. The facility will benefit by saving money related unnecessary spending on items such as antibiotics and intravenous (IV) supplies.
That is so simple in order to prevent any miscalculation. This is totally unacceptable when everyone expects the medical doctors, nurses, and RNA’s to be experts in their field of practice. The fact that physicians or other health care providers are not washing their hands as often to prevent infection is pure laziness. You learn that hand hygiene is important even when you are a young child and if you have went to medical or nursing school your instructors definitely highlight hand hygiene because of this very reason. Hand washing is fundamental and should not be taken for granted when involving a patient’s care. If the issue of overcrowding appears then that as an issue of the person who schedules procedures and appointments and that they should check their records for appointment before scheduling anyone for services. Now if it’s the case of emergency rooms or admitting some for an illness on spot and there are not available beds or operating rooms I’m sorry but I feel that the doctor should refer the patient to another hospital. I’m sure the physician or facility doesn’t want to give up that money but the main goal is to ensure that the patient gets the care that he or she needs and will gain health and if the facility they
Interestingly, two studies of the four compared the compliance rates of HCWs in particular nurses and physicians. Sharma, Puri, Sharma, & Whig (2011) found in their study that compliance rates for hand hygiene protocols was significantly higher for physicians (50.8%) as a opposed to nurses (41.3%). In contrast, Mathai, George, & Abraham (2011) had conflicting findings in which higher compliance rates were associated with nurses (45%) in comparison to physicians (17%). Both studies had similar sample sizes and were investigated in developing countries India and Pakistan; nonetheless, language barriers and varying educational levels of different staff groups, may have influenced the understanding of the need for effective hand hygiene (Mathai et al., 2011). Of four studies, three were observational studies, which provide opportunity to question the rigour of the
A healthy mouth not only facilitates nutrition of the physical body, but it also develops confidence and sensation of health. Oral conditions effect the general health and disease. Oral hygiene prevents bad breathe, gum diseases and tooth decay. Dentists can diagnose and treat oral affliction at the initial level. This help adults and children to maintain excellent dental health during their lifetime.
Hygienist are the dentists who educate their patients on the importance of oral health care. Hygienist examine any chipped tooth,damage filling,discolored or swollen gums, and also take x-rays, and help prevent tooth decay. Today, dental care focuses on prevention. Preventing tooth decay and related problems is the main job of a dental hygienist. As generations pass, not many people are fully aware of the downside of not properly taking care of their pearly whites. This topic was brought to my attention by noticing the lack of dental hygiene among my peers. This doesn’t necessarily just mean having only cavities, sore gums, but also bad breath.
“Failure to attend to hand hygiene has serious consequences: it has a negative effect on patient safety and the quality of patients’ lives, as well as on their confidence in healthcare delivery. However, the prevalence of hand hygiene omission is still high” (Canadian Disease Control, 2016 p 1). Washing hands before and after patient contact seems like a simple solution to prevent the spread of bacteria between patients. But it is not as simple as it seems.According to new CDC data, “approximately one in 25 patients acquires a health care-associated infection during their hospital care, adding up to about 722,000 infections a year. Of these, 75,000 patients die from their infections ( CDC, 2016 p 1).” Leaving a finacial burden on Canada’s health care
This information makes it clear that the reason that hand hygiene is being consistently advertised as highly important for health workers, visitors, patients and the general public is because we are still not taking steps to ensure that avoidable infections and diseases are in fact avoided.
Better infection control practices and hand washing techniques utilized by the general population help to reduce the incidences of easily avoidable conditions, such as impetigo caused by staphylococcal and streptococcal infections. It may be beneficial for public health departments to recommend teachers to teach students on how to properly wash hands and clean high contact fomites.
Whitby, M., Pessoa-Silva, C., Mclaws, M., Allegranzi, B., Sax, H., Larson, E., Seto, W., Donaldson, L. & Pittet, D. (2007). Behavioural considerations for hand hygiene practices: the basic building blocks. Journal Of Hospital Infection, 65 (1), pp. 113-114. 1--8.
Using good hand hygiene is a start to making sure the patient environment is safe. “Handwashing is a fundamental principle and practice in the prevention, control, and reduction of healthcare-acquired infections” (Bjerke, 2004, p. 1). Hand hygiene aids in infection control, being as most hospital acquired infections are due to improper or absence of hand hygiene. Fox, Wavra, Drake, Mulligan, Jones, Bennett, and Bader (2015) suggest that 2.5 million deaths occur from hospital-acquired infections and of those deaths, 90,000 were preventable if the workers in healthcare would have used proper hand hygiene. Piece of mind is a mutual benefit of using hand hygiene in the healthcare setting. A nurse benefits from using hand hygiene because it would reduce the risk of that nurse contaminating other patients when going from patient room to patient room. A patient benefits from using hand hygiene because it reduces the risk of that patient spreading infection from one part of the body to another. Piece of mind is the benefit for knowing that patients and nurses are protected in healthcare facilities by using hand hygiene. Patients and nurses will benefit from using hand hygiene because it is a simple way to aid in keeping the individual healthy. The hands carry many germs and constant adherence to good hand hygiene will decrease the risk of people catching illnesses and contaminating shared surfaces (door handles, tables, and
Patient’s personal hygiene is a vital part of the nurse’s role. Young (1991) described cleanliness as a basic human right, not a luxury the need for the patient to physically cleansing and which would include skin, hair and nails.
Getting a good oral health can show the condition of body and reduce the getting other diseases in our body. Some reports have shown that periodontal disease has a relationship with a stroke, heart disease. Pregnant with periodontal disease also get a higher chance having low birth weight babies. Oral infections are the symptoms of some of the diseases. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2000)Furthermore, a survey found that the dental decay and poor oral hygiene are the potential risk factors of having pneumonia. Also, a better oral health can reduce the occurrence of pneumonia. (Azarpazhooh & Leake, 2006) Maintaining oral health not only a matter of oral, but also related to our health of whole body. In addition, people with loss of tooth may not chew food enough, which may cause the digestive problems of digestive system. People may not underestimated the importance of maintaining good oral hygiene.
The combination of safe drinking water and hygienic sanitation facilities is a precondition for health and for success in the fight against poverty, hunger, child deaths and gender inequality. UNICEF works in more than 90 countries around the world to improve water supplies and sanitation facilities in schools and communities, and to promote safe hygiene practices. All UNICEF water and sanitation programmes are designed to contribute to the Millennium Development Goal for water and sanitation: to halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe water and basic sanitation. Key strategies for meeting the water, sanitation and hygiene challenges are to:
Excellent hygiene in nursing homes is a must. Residents that live there can easily get sick due to their medical condition, or they have a poor immune system. With all different types of bacteria and germs spread throughout a day, residents can be affected in a negative way. So with personal experience and some research, I am able to present to you the importance of hygiene of the residents' in nursing home care.
There are basic procedures to follow in order to uphold proper oral hygiene including brushing and flossing. The first step in maintaining a healthy mouth is performing proper brushing every day. Brushing properly helps lower the risk of tooth decay and gum disease, which are the major causes of tooth loss (Oral-B). It is recommended by the American Dental Association to brush teeth after every meal or at least twice a day (Edwards). It is important to choose the right toothbrush and toothpaste in order to get the best cleaning. A toothpaste containing fluoride will strengthen teeth and prevent cavities...