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
V. (2000). Effectiveness of a hospital-wide programme to improve compliance with hand hygiene. The Lancet, 356(9238), 1307-1312.
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.
“The CDC is the primary developer of national infection control and prevention guidelines, often in collaboration with its Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee, which is responsible for research and dissemination of the latest information for preventing disease transmission” (Griffis, 2013, p. 175). Infection control will continue to be a topic of discussion as long as germ transmission is still happening. Among these studies is the concern the frequent nonadherence to contact precautions is a huge issue that many studies are still very concerned about (Jessee & Mion, 2013, p. 966). The writer is also concerned with the blatant disregard for hand hygiene that appears to be happening in the medical field. What about what is best for the patient. Do the people that do not use proper hand hygiene not understand how important it
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.
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
This literature review will analyze and critically explore four studies that have been conducted on hand hygiene compliance rates by Healthcare workers (HCWs). Firstly, it will look at compliance rates for HCWs in the intensive care units (ICU) and then explore the different factors that contribute to low hand hygiene compliance. Hospital Acquired infections (HAI) or Nosocomial Infections appear worldwide, affecting both developed and poor countries. HAIs represent a major source of morbidity and mortality, especially for patients in the ICU (Hugonnet, Perneger, & Pittet, 2002). Hand hygiene can be defined as any method that destroys or removes microorganisms on hands (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2009). According to the World Health Organization (2002), a HAI can be defined as an infection occurring in a patient in a hospital or other health care facility in whom the infection was not present or incubating at the time of admission. The hands of HCWs transmit majority of the endemic infections. As
I should comfort the nurse and ask to do hand hygiene and taught advantages of hand hygiene. Marram (2009) stated that healthcare professional team needs to constant communicate to plan strategies, solve problems and evaluate progress (pg.28-30). I learn that health professional team needs excellent interaction to provide excellent care of resident. According to Smith (2015), “leadership can successful by fair conversation with healthcare provider, staff, p-patient, regulator and insurance company. Without conversation, there is no management, without management; there is no success in our healthcare system”.
As health advocates, nurses have a responsibility to communicate the importance of hand hygiene to their patients, through informing and enabling the practice of hand sanitising, along with ensuring patients are able to continue to have their personal hygiene needs met while in
Throughout healthcare facilities you will often see signs and displays regarding hand hygiene (see figures below) these signs are displayed to educate the public in this field. Health care facilities hope that patients and visitors will acknowledge these signs and put these procedures into practice. –SA Health
Hand hygiene has always been considered a basic and yet, crucial measure for a qualified patient care. The article focuses on the importance of Hand hygiene in nursing and medical degree students since they also have direct contact with patients. The outcomes of the study showed that despite its importance in health environments, hand hygiene technique is not done correctly by many of the students. The article was very enlightening, it used a scientific language that was clear but not much complicated, except for the specific terms used in the methodology. As a nursing student, it was very helpful to learn that hand hygiene must be executed with no flaws and also, when not done properly, it can lead to dangerous consequences. Transmission of
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. 1--8.
Medical asepsis plays an integral role in infection control within a health care facility. It includes procedures used to decrease and prevent direct contact with blood or bodily fluids and emphasizes keeping the environment clean on a regular basis (Curchoe, Astle, & Hobbs, 2014). In order to achieve optimal health, individuals depend on practices and techniques that control and ultimately prevent the transmission of infection. These practices and techniques can help avoid the transmission of infections by creating an environment that protects both health care workers and patients from communicable diseases. Good hand hygiene has been stressed as the single most important measure to prevent cross-infection to patients in health care facilities
Fox, C., Wavra, T., Drake, D. A., Mulligan, D., Jones, L., Bennett, Y. P., & ... Bader, M. K. (2015). USE OF A PATIENT HAND HYGIENE PROTOCOL TO REDUCE HOSPITAL-ACQUIRED INFECTIONS AND IMPROVE NURSES ' HAND WASHING. American Journal Of Critical Care, 24(3), 216-224 9p. doi:10.4037/ajcc2015898
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
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.