Employee Health and the Infection Control Practitioner—Why Bother?

1984 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 98-99
Author(s):  
William M. Valenti
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Infection Control ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Employee Health ◽  
Health Care Facilities ◽  
Control Input ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Control Programs ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Infection Control Practitioner

The hospital is a unique workplace in terms of the infectious hazards it presents to its employees. Traditionally, infection control programs have focused on various aspects of infection control in patients. However, infections constitute a risk for health care workers, a fact which emphasizes the importance of infection control input into the employee health program. Many health care facilities and most regulatory agencies recognize the importance of infection control in health care workers. However, infection control programs have had varying degrees of influence in occupational health matters. As the discipline of infection control has grown and become more sophisticated, the subdiscipline of employee health has also begun to grow and emerge with a data base of its own. Many infection control conferences, symposia, and meetings now have a session or two related to employee health. Perhaps even more important is the CDC Guideline for Infection Control in Hospital Personnel, written by a CDC panel as part of its guidelines series. It will be responsible for drawing attention to employee health issues as they relate to infection control and should help solidify the discipline. The guideline will also provide opinions and answers to many questions regarding infection control and employee health.

Employee Work Restrictions for Infection Control

1984 ◽  
Vol 5 (12) ◽  
pp. 583-584 ◽  
Author(s):  
William M. Valenti
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Infection Control ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Employee Health ◽  
Patient Contact ◽  
Hospital Personnel ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Leave Of Absence ◽  
Infectious Illness

From time to time, health care workers are restricted from patient contact because of proven or suspected infectious illness or because of incubating disease after an exposure. The CDC Guideline for Infection Control in Hospital Personnel addresses a number of infectious illnesses and exposures which may require some type of employee restriction from patient contact. However, the Guideline does not address the administrative aspects that accompany putting an employee on a leave of absence for infection control purposes. This process is often complicated and questions frequently arise as to how an employee should be paid for the time lost from work. In general, there is no uniform way to approach the problem of “absence to prevent contagion.” As with many areas of infection control and employee health, hospitals can choose one of several options. However, the employee should never be penalized for reporting an infectious illness or exposure, and administrators should encourage reporting of proven or suspected disease or exposures (eg, exposure to chickenpox).

Airborne infection control for TB in healthcare settings: it’s time to act

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 1040
Author(s):  
Vinay K. ◽  
Akhila Rao K.
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Infection Control ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Control Program ◽  
Health Care Facilities ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Political Commitment ◽  
Infection Control Program ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Tb Infection Control

Globally, an estimated 10.0 million people were affected by TB in 2018 with India leading with 27% incidence. Ending the TB epidemic by 2030 is among the health targets of the Sustainable Development Goals set by WHO. Unsuspected TB cases contribute to TB transmission because they may go unsuspected for weeks, and may visit multiple health-care facilities or be admitted indoors to non-isolation wards hence posing threat to Health care workers (HCW) who are at high risk for both latent TB and TB infection when compared to general community population. The TB infection control program should be followed by the hospitals which should include Administrative measures, Environmental measures and Personal protective measures. Health-care worker (HCW) education, training and capacity building on TB infection is an essential part of a TB infection control program. Standard precautions should be taken for maintaining TB laboratory, proper management of accidents/spillages and appropriate methods of waste handling and disposal. Effective infection control in health care workers integrated approach at National, State, Local health officials and Hospital administrative levels are required for effective tackling infection to health care workers along with political commitment and leadership at all the levels. Finally, TB infection control programs can have secondary benefits with infection control in general, which, if improved, could also prevent other infectious diseases that may be nosocomially transmitted.

scholarly journals Coronavirus Disease 2019: Knowledge, Attitude, Practice, and Perceived Barriers among Health care Workers at Cairo University Children Hospital, Egypt

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (E) ◽  
pp. 80-88
Author(s):  
Yasmine S. Galal ◽  
Walaa A. Abuelhamd ◽  
Tamer A. Abdel Hamid ◽  
Nema R. Elsayed
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Infection Control ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Positive Attitude ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Health Care Facilities ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Perceived Barriers ◽  
Good Knowledge ◽  
Care Workers

BACKGROUND: Insufficient knowledge and negative attitude toward coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among health care workers (HCWs) could lead to faulty practices resulting in delayed diagnosis and spread of the disease. AIM: this study was conducted to assess the knowledge, attitude, practice, and perceived barriers to infection control toward COVID-19 among Egyptian HCWs. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Cairo University Children Hospital, with 537 HCWs (doctors and nurses) enrolled. RESULTS: HCWs had an overall good knowledge level about COVID-19 where 61% had a knowledge score of ≥18 points (out of 23). Doctors were more knowledgeable than nurses. About 64% of HCWs were considered as having positive attitude (scored ≥10 out of 13 points), with a significantly higher positive attitude among nurses. The mean practice score of HCWs was 1.0 ± 2.0 with a significantly higher good practice among nurses. Younger age, being a doctor, and higher qualification were the significant positive predictors of acquiring knowledge about the disease. The most commonly perceived barriers for applying infection control measures in hospitals were overcrowdings in health-care facilities (78.2%) and insufficient infection control policies (62.6%). CONCLUSION: HCWs in general expressed good knowledge, positive attitude, and good practice toward COVID-19 despite some gaps that were detected in specific items. Proper planning of educational programs that are directed according to the needs of different groups of HCWs is crucial. Effective policies should be established to overcome the barriers for applying infection control in health facilities.

scholarly journals Attitudes Towards COVID-19 Vaccine: A Survey of Health Care Workers in Oman

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faryal Khamis ◽  
Abdallah Badahdah ◽  
Nawal Al Mahyijari ◽  
Furqan Al Lawati ◽  
Jaleela Al Noamani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Health Care Facilities ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Efficacy And Safety ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Care Facilities

AbstractCoronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine hesitancy among health care workers (HCWs) is widely reported. Here we report on the prevalence of vaccine hesitancy and the factors associated with it in a sample of non-vaccinated HCWs. Data from 433 not vaccinated medical and non-medical HCWs from various health care facilities after the introduction of COVID-19 vaccination in Oman were analyzed. Most of the participants were nurses (41.5%) followed by physicians (37.5%) and non-medical HCWs (21%). Forty percent of HCWs were willing to uptake the COVID-19 vaccines. Physicians and male HCWs had more positive attitudes toward the COVID-19 vaccines than nurses and female HCWs. Concerns about the COVID-19 vaccines including unknown health issues, efficacy and safety were stated by the participants. Our results show a low level of willingness to uptake the COVID-19 vaccines among HCWs, an issue that must be urgently addressed.

The fundamental role of educational intervention on improving health care workers’ knowledge, attitude and practice towards infection control precautions

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rasha H. Bassyouni ◽  
Ahmed-Ashraf Wegdan ◽  
Naglaa A El-Sherbiny
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Infection Control ◽  
Educational Intervention ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Standard Precautions ◽  
Attitude And Practice ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Atp Bioluminescence ◽  
Knowledge Attitude And Practice

To evaluate the role of educational intervention on health care workers' (HCWs) compliance to standard precautions and cleaning of frequently touched surfaces at critical care units, forty-nine HCWs at 2 intensive care units (ICUs) and one neonatology unit at Fayoum University hospital were evaluated for knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) towards standard precautions as well as obstacles affecting their compliance to standard precautions before and after a 32-hour purposed-designed infection control education program. A structured self-administrated questionnaire as well as observational checklists were used. Assessment of Environmental cleaning was investigated by observational checklist, ATP bioluminescence and aerobic bacteriological culture for 118 frequently touched surfaces. Pre-intervention assessment revealed that 78.6% of HCWs were with good knowledge, 82.8% with good attitude and 80.8% had good practice. Obstacles identified by HCWs were as follow: making patient-care very technical (65.3%), deficiency of hand washing facilities (59.2%), skin irritation resulting from hand hygiene products (51%), and unavailability of PPE (38.8%). High significant improvements of knowledge, attitude and practice were detected after one month of educational intervention (P= 0.000). During the pre-interventional period only 30.5% of surfaces were considered clean versus 97.45% post intervention (P< 0.05). The highest Median ATP bioluminescence values were obtained from telephone handset, light switches and Blood pressure cuffs. S. aureus was the most common isolated organism followed by Enterococcus spp and E.coli (52, 38 and 19 surfaces respectively). In conclusion, contentious training of HCWs on standard precautions should be considered a mandatory element in infection control programs

scholarly journals Psychological Distress, Early Behavioral Response, and Perception Toward the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Health Care Workers in North Shoa Zone, Oromiya Region

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kemal Jemal ◽  
Berhanu Senbeta Deriba ◽  
Tinsae Abeya Geleta
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Behavioral Response ◽  
Behavioral Responses ◽  
Health Care Facilities ◽  
Medical Laboratory ◽  
Event Scale ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Medical Laboratory Professionals

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a significant psychological impact on health care workers (HCWs). Therefore, this study inspects the mental health status, behavioral response, and perception among HCWs (nurses, physicians, and medical laboratory workers) during the COVID-19 pandemic in public health care facilities.Methods: A facilities-based cross-sectional study was conducted in July 2020. A simple random sampling technique was used to select study participants. Data were collected by self-report administered questionnaires using Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) for depression, General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) for anxiety, Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) for insomnia, Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) for psychological distress, Perceived Threat Scale for perception, and Behavioral Response Inquiry for the behavioral response. Moreover, bivariable and multivariable logistic regressions analysis was used to identify the association between dependent and independent variables at p-value &lt;0.05.Results: A total of 417 (98.6%) HCWs responded to a self-administered questionnaire. The proportion of HCWs who had moderate to severe symptoms of psychological distress, depression, anxiety, and insomnia during the COVID-19 pandemic were 58, 16.3, 30.7, and 15.9%, respectively. Three-fifth of the nurses, medical laboratory professionals (62.2%), and physicians (59.2%) had reported good behavioral responses toward the COVID-19 pandemic. More than three-fifths of the nurses had reported poor perception toward the COVID-19 pandemic. Conversely, 61.2% of physicians and three-fourths (75.5%) of medical laboratory professionals had reported good perception toward the COVID-19 pandemic. Female and married participants, those working in the emergency unit, those with poor behavioral responses, and those with poor perception toward the COVID-19 pandemic were significantly associated with symptoms of psychological distress, depression, anxiety, and insomnia.Conclusions: Psychological impacts among physicians, nurses, and medical laboratory professionals are high during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Health should aim to protect all HCWs' psychological well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic with appropriate interventions and accurate information response.

scholarly journals Health care workers' recommendations for strengthening tuberculosis infection control in the Dominican Republic

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Helena J. Chapman ◽  
Bienvenido A. Veras-Estévez ◽  
Jamie L. Pomeranz ◽  
Eddy N. Pérez-Then ◽  
Belkys Marcelino ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Dominican Republic ◽  
Infection Control ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Tuberculosis Infection ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Tuberculosis Infection Control

scholarly journals Advancing Mental Health and Psychological Support for Health Care Workers Using Digital Technologies and Platforms (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiancheng Ye
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Psychological Problems ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Psychological Issues ◽  
Mental Health Issues ◽  
Care Workers

BACKGROUND The COVID-19 pandemic is a global public health crisis that has not only endangered the lives of patients but also resulted in increased psychological issues among medical professionals, especially frontline health care workers. As the crisis caused by the pandemic shifts from acute to protracted, attention should be paid to the devastating impacts on health care workers’ mental health and social well-being. Digital technologies are being harnessed to support the responses to the pandemic, which provide opportunities to advance mental health and psychological support for health care workers. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to develop a framework to describe and organize the psychological and mental health issues that health care workers are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the framework, this study also proposes interventions from digital health perspectives that health care workers can leverage during and after the pandemic. METHODS The psychological problems and mental health issues that health care workers have encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic were reviewed and analyzed based on the proposed MEET (Mental Health, Environment, Event, and Technology) framework, which also demonstrated the interactions among mental health, digital interventions, and social support. RESULTS Health care workers are facing increased risk of experiencing mental health issues due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including burnout, fear, worry, distress, pressure, anxiety, and depression. These negative emotional stressors may cause psychological problems for health care workers and affect their physical and mental health. Digital technologies and platforms are playing pivotal roles in mitigating psychological issues and providing effective support. The proposed framework enabled a better understanding of how to mitigate the psychological effects during the pandemic, recover from associated experiences, and provide comprehensive institutional and societal infrastructures for the well-being of health care workers. CONCLUSIONS The COVID-19 pandemic presents unprecedented challenges due to its prolonged uncertainty, immediate threat to patient safety, and evolving professional demands. It is urgent to protect the mental health and strengthen the psychological resilience of health care workers. Given that the pandemic is expected to exist for a long time, caring for mental health has become a “new normal” that needs a strengthened multisector collaboration to facilitate support and reduce health disparities. The proposed MEET framework could provide structured guidelines for further studies on how technology interacts with mental and psychological health for different populations.

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