Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
is proper hand hygiene in the hospital setting
is proper hand hygiene in the hospital setting
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: is proper hand hygiene in the hospital setting
Why is proper hand washing in a hospital setting vital to a patient’s health? Hospitals all across America are cracking down on employees washing their hands before and after leaving a patients room. Patients are coming in for a simple procedure and staying longer due to the fact of catching something while in the hospital. Three of the major infections patients are catching are c-Diff (clostridium Difficile), MRSA (Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus), and Norovirus. “ If employees followed the guidelines by CDC (Center for Disease Control) and their employer infections can be reduce by up to one- third” ( Creedon 208-209). One of the major infections hospitals are seeing is C-Diff also known as clostridium Difficile. Symptoms ranges from diarrhea to life threaten inflammation of the colon. C-Diff usually occurs after antibiotic medications like penicillin and clindamycin (Deborah Sharp, RN, BSN). C –Diff was first identified in the 1930 in the feces of healthy newborns, but the organism was not considered a pathogen (Harvard Health edu). C-Diff disrupts the normal flora in the intestine allowing the proliferation of the C-Diff bacteria. A person staying longer in the hospital can increase their risk of catching this infection. A person with this infection can transmit the organism to others by contaminating environmental and skin surfaces. Healthcare workers become carriers through transmission that likely occurs via spores that lay dormant on their hands (Dr. Swartz) This is why proper hand washing is essential, since healthcare workers can pass it on. Antiseptic washes and alcohol – based gels do not get rid of C-Diff. the CDC says that people should wash with antimicrobial soap using friction for 15 seconds before ... ... middle of paper ... ...on. It may take patients to remind employees, but this has to stop we are losing too many people in a hospital setting due to neglect on the employees part. Works Cited Carlton, Cameron. RN, MSN, Director of Nursing at Moses Cone Hospital “C. difficile--associated disease on the rise." Harvard Women's Health Watch 14.8 (2007): 6-7. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 31 Mar. 2011. Code u Moses cone Newsletter, Jan (2011) 23-24 Creedon, Sile A. "Healthcare workers' hand decontamination practices: compliance with recommended guidelines." Journal of Advanced Nursing 51.3 (2005): 208-216. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 31 Mar. 2011. National Institute for Public Health.com Sharp, Deborah, RN BSN Infection control Moses Cone Hospital DR. Swartz, Zachery, Neurology Moses Cone Hospital Wordqvist, Christian. Medical News Today 11 February 2009
C. difficile is highly contagious and is transmitted through the fecal-oral route. 2 It also known to develop right afte...
A common hospital acquired condition that nurses see now days is clostridium difficile. This bacterium usually invades patients who have been on long-term antibiotics that have killed off bacteria that protect them from infection. C. diff is passed from host to host by both direct and indirect contact making it readily moved from patient to patient in hospital settings (Mayo, 2013, 1). Nurses can use the QSEN competencies and KSAs to help treat and prevent hospital acquired conditions such as C.diff.
The medical assisting extern needed to wash her hands before preparing the room for a patient to prevent cross contamination.
Clostridium difficile infection usually occurs in people who are being treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics. The antibiotics kill all of the normal flora in the intestines leaving no bacteria to compete with C. difficile. It is then able to colonize and proliferate. It releases Toxin A and Toxin B. Toxin A is an ent...
C. difficile infection (CDI) is a dangerous healthcare-associated infection as well as a growing burden, especially with the appearance of more potent strains in the early 2000s. Clostridium difficile was initially identified as possessing the ability to initiate pseudomembranous colitis in the late 1970s. Asymptomatic colonization in healthy adults has been detected in only 3% of individuals, whereas the pervasiveness of such colonization among patients in long-term-care facilities is approximately 50%. People colonized with C. difficile act as a reservoir of contamination by infecting the environment with C. difficile spores, consequently leading to an increase of the pathogen on the hand...
“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
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
Each year the number of health care associated infections (HAI) increases and has been estimated to be in the hundreds of millions of people around the world. In the United States this accounts for approximately 1 in 25 patients ("Hand Hygiene Basics," 2014). Health care associated infections are considered to be the most persistant adverse event in health care. Hand washing is considered to be one of the best methods for preventing the spread of infection and that poor hand hygiene places patients at high risk ("The Evidence for Clean," n.d.). Patients receiving care in hospitals, long term care facilities, and nursing homes are especially at high risk for developing infections while being cared for. Most health care associated infections
The studies provided in the literature review prove that. It is believed that hand washing is the best thing to do to kill bacteria but as study show hand sanitizing is more efficient (Michaels, 2014). The experiment mentioned before done at the University College of Health Studies proves that hand sanitizing is the best way to kill bacteria in hands (2015). The best way to prevent hospital acquired infections is to wash hands in situations where it is necessary, like when hands are visibly soiled, and use hand sanitizer in situations that are appropriate. In other words use your judgment. Because studies also show that washing hands too often can have damaging effects to hands it is not recommended to use hand washing only (Michaels, 2014). It takes about 20 seconds to wash your hands and 5 seconds to use hand sanitizer. Such a big difference can be made in the prevention of hospital acquired infections by just performing that very simple task that doesn’t take very long to do and so many lives can be saved as
It is estimated that the cost of caring for people who contract a healthcare related infection is over 1 billion pounds a year (National Audit Office, 2009), which puts the emphasis on infection prevention and control into perspective. Hand hygiene has been highlighted as a key factor in reducing these incidences of infection and therefore reducing the costs to the NHS. Health care related infections can cause a range of symptoms from mild discomfort to serious, debilitating damage and even death. By reducing costs of avoidable infection, the money saved can be used in other areas of the NHS to improve the service for users and therefore improve the quality of life for many who are
Healthcare-associated infections can occur in any type of healthcare facility. It usually begins from cross contamination from healthcare providers to the patient, however, it can come from other patients, hazardous medical procedures, and contaminated surgical tools too. Healthcare workers play the leading role in preventing healthcare-associated infections. Srigley et al. (2013) stated that “Healthcare worker (HCW) hand hygiene is considered to be one of the most important interventions for the prevention of HAIs and AROs. However HCW hand hygiene is typically poor, with a median compliance of 40%, and few interventions have been demonstrated to result in significant and sustained improvement” In order to
The systematic review; Interventions to improve hand hygiene compliance in patient care, conducted by the Cochrane Collaboration investigated inventions to improve hand hygiene compliance within patient care. The review included 2 original studies with an additional two new studies (Gould & Moralejo et al., 2010). Throughout the review it was affirmed that among hand hygiene is an indispensable method in the prevention of hospital-acquired infections (HAI), the compliance among nurses’ is inadequate. Nurses are identified within the public as dependable and trustworthy in a time of vulnerability due to their specialised education and skills (Hughes, 2008). Thus, it is imperative that evidence based practice is cond...
The focus of health care is and has always been, practicing good hygiene, living a healthy lifestyle, and having a positive attitude reduces the chance of getting ill. Although there is not much prevention we can take for some of the diseases but we can certainly practice good hand hygiene to prevent infection and its ill effects. Research proves that hand washing is surely the most easy and effective way to prevent infection in health care. The question for this research: Is Hand washing an effective way to prevent infection in health care? It led to the conclusion that due to the high acuity, high patient: staff ratio, and lack of re evaluation certain units in the health care facilities cannot adhere to correct hand washing guidelines. Hand
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines hand hygiene as, “a general term that applies to routine hand washing, antiseptic hand wash, antiseptic hand rub, or surgical hand antisepsis.” (Center for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2013) The idea of hand washing has been around for centuries. In the mid-1800’s Ignaz Semmelweis established that hospital-acquired diseases were transmitted via the hands of health care workers. After Semmelweis observed physicians and health care workers in the obstetric setting and studied mortality rates he recommended that hands be scrubbed in a chlorinated lime solution before coming in contact with every patient. Following the implementation of Semmelweis’s recommendation mortality rates associated with childbirth fell from seven percent to three percent. Although Semmelweis observation and recommendations were significant fellow physicians and colleagues did not adopt them. The 1980’s posed as a crucial time for health care in the sense of hand hygiene. This was when the first national hand hygiene guidelines were published in the 1980s. In 1995 and 1996, the CDC/Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) in the USA suggested that either antimicrobial soap or a waterless antiseptic agent be use...
“Researchers in London estimate that if everyone routinely washed their hands, a million deaths a year could be prevented” (“Hygiene Fast Facts”, 2013, p. 1). Hands are the number one mode of transmission of pathogens. Hands are also vital in patient interaction, and therefore should be kept clean to protect the safety of patients and the person caring for the patient. Hand hygiene is imperative to professional nursing practice because it prevents the spread of pathogens, decreases chances of hospital-acquired infections, and promotes patient safety. There is a substantial amount of evidence that shows why hand hygiene is important in healthcare