Infection control: a close up look at award-winning ways

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 248-251
Author(s):  
Justine Nuzzo ◽  
Ruth Collis

Cwmbran Dental Care was named our Infection Prevention and Control Practice of the Year for 2018. Here, dental nurse Justine Nuzzo and co-principal and infection control lead Ruth Collis share their practice protocols

Author(s):  
Hyunjung Kim ◽  
Hyunju Park

The purpose of this study was to examine compliance with infection prevention and control practice and factors affecting compliance in nursing students who are about to graduate. A cross-sectional survey design was used. A total of 178 students from two nursing colleges in South Korea responded to self-reported questionnaires. Descriptive statistics, independent t-test, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression analysis were conducted. Mean score for compliance was 4.09 ± 0.43 out of 5. The highest score was on compliance with prevention of cross-infection (4.42 ± 0.54) and the lowest was on use of protective devices (3.86 ± 0.78). Non–occupational exposure scores on compliance subcategories were significantly higher than those for occupational exposure. Students’ perception of safe environment for infection control and a positive attitude toward infection control predicted compliance significantly (β = 0.28, p < 0.001; β = 0.18, p = 0.014, respectively). The findings clarify that the level of infection control compliance among Korean nursing students is moderate. In order to increase the level of compliance, a climate that emphasizes a safe environment for healthcare-associated infections should be strengthened. In addition, nursing education should endeavor to develop a positive attitude toward infection prevention.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Walelegn Worku Yallew ◽  
Abera Kumie ◽  
Feleke Moges Yehuala

Healthcare workers have good perception towards infection prevention, but there has been a poor practice towards it. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore barriers to practice of infection prevention and control practice in teaching hospitals in Amhara region. A phenomenological approach used to explore the lived experience of healthcare workers and management staffs towards infection prevention practice and control. The data was collected from ten in-depth interviews and 23 focus group discussion participants, by face to face interview using open ended interview performed in safe and quiet places. Data was managed using OpenCode software version 4.03 and contents were analyzed thematically. Totally ten different barriers were identified, such as availability of facilities, shortage of material supply, lack of maintenance of facilities and equipment, high patient flow, experience, emergency situation, healthcare worker behaviour and healthcare worker’s information about infection prevention, low awareness of patients and visitors and overflow of families and visitors to the hospital. For effective infection prevention practice implementation, barriers should be considered via identifying specific organizational, healthcare worker, patients and visitors as targets.


Author(s):  
Hala A Amer ◽  
Ibrahim A Alowidah ◽  
Chasteffi Bugtai ◽  
Barbara M. Soule ◽  
Ziad A Memish

Abstract Background: King Saud Medical City (KSMC) is a quaternary care center based in the center of the capital city, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and is one of the key Ministry of Health (MoH) facilities dedicated to the care of COVID-19 patients in the central region. Methods: A comprehensive surge plan was promptly launched in mid-March 2020 to address the pandemic and then expanded in a phase-wise approach. Supporting the capacity of the infection prevention and control department (IPCD) was one of the main pillars of KSMC surge plan. Task force Infection Control teams have been formulated to tackle the different aspects of pandemic containment processes. The challenges and measures undertaken by the IPC team have been described. Conclusion: Realizing the more prominent role of infection prevention and control staff as frontline responders to public health emergencies like COVID-19, a solid infection prevention and control system at the healthcare setting supported by qualified and sufficient manpower, a well-developed multidisciplinary team approach, electronic infrastructure and efficient supply utilization is required for effective crisis management.


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (suppl_1) ◽  
pp. S407-S407
Author(s):  
Kate Tyner ◽  
Regina Nailon ◽  
Sue Beach ◽  
Margaret Drake ◽  
Teresa Fitzgerald ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Little is known about hand hygiene (HH) policies and practices in long-term care facilities (LTCF). Hence, we decided to study the frequency of HH-related infection control (IC) gaps and the factors associated with it. Methods The Nebraska (NE) Infection Control Assessment and Promotion Program (ICAP) in collaboration with NE Department of Health and Human Services conducted in-person surveys and on-site observations to assess infection prevention and control programs (IPCP) in 30 LTCF from 11/2015 to 3/2017. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Infection Prevention and Control Assessment tool for LTCF was used for on-site interviews and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) Hospital IC Worksheet was used for observations. Gap frequencies were calculated for questions (6 on CDC survey and 8 on CMS worksheet) representing best practice recommendations (BPR). The factors studied for the association with the gaps included LTCF bed size (BS), hospital affiliation (HA), having trained infection preventionists (IP), and weekly hours (WH)/ 100 bed spent by IP on IPCP. Fisher’s exact test and Mann Whitney test were used for statistical analyses. Results HH-related IC gap frequencies from on-site interviews are displayed in Figure 1. Only 6 (20%) LTCF reported having all 6 BPR in place and 10 (33%) having 5 BPR. LTCF with fewer gaps (5 to 6 BPR in place) appear more likely to have HA as compared with the LTCF with more gaps but the difference didn’t reach statistical significance (37.5% vs. 7.1%, P = 0.09). When analyzed separately for each gap, it was found that LTCF with HA are more likely to have a policy on preferential use of alcohol based hand rubs than the ones without HA. (85.7%, vs. 26.1% P = 0.008). Several IC gaps were also identified during observations (Figure 2) with one of them being overall HH compliance of &lt;80%. LTCF that have over 90% HH compliance are more likely to have higher median IP WH/100 beds dedicated towards IPCP as compared with the LTCFs with less than 90% compliance (16.4 vs. 4.4, P &lt; 0.05). Conclusion Many HH-related IC gaps still exist in LTCF and require mitigation. Mitigation strategies may include encouraging LTCF to collaborate with IP at local acute care hospitals for guidance on IC activities and to increase dedicated IP times towards IPCP in LTCF. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Kemal Jemal ◽  
Ketema Gashaw ◽  
Tadele Kinati ◽  
Worku Bedada ◽  
Belete Getahun

Background. Infection prevention and control practice (IPCP) is essential for healthcare safety and quality service delivery. The Ethiopian government has already put in place programs and initiatives for clean and safe healthcare facilities. However, in the North Showa Zone of the Oromiya Region, the infection prevention and control practice level was not well understood. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of infection prevention and control practice among the health workforce (HWF) in North Shoa healthcare facilities (NSHCFs) environment. Methods. Healthcare facility-based cross-sectional study design was employed. Structured and pretested self-administered questionnaires were distributed for 373 health workforce. Three hospitals and six health centers were randomly selected, and the study participants were selected by systematic sampling technique. Data were entered into Epi-data version 3.5.2 and then exported to SPSS version 23 for analysis. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to determine the associated factors with infection prevention practice, and a p value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results. A total of 361 (96.8%) health workforce responded to self-administered questionnaires. About 55.70% of study participants had good knowledge, 59.3% of them had a positive attitude, and 46.8% had a good infection prevention practice. Age category of 20–29(AOR = 4.08, 95%, CI = (1.97, 8.49)), female participants (AOR = 3.87, 95%, CI = (1.91, 7.86)), single participants (AOR = 3.89, 95%, CI = (1.92, 7.87)), having greater than ten years of working experience (AOR = 3.10, 95% CI = (1.19, 8.10)), positive attitude (AOR = 10.07, 95% CI = (4.82, 21.05)), and availability of water at working area (AOR = 2.27, 95% CI = (1.18, 4.35)) were significantly associated with good infection prevention practice. Conclusion. In this study, a significant number of health workers had low knowledge, negative attitudes, and poor infection prevention practices. Female participants, higher work experience, a positive attitude, and water availability in the healthcare facilities were positively associated with infection prevention and control practice. Healthcare facilities should be continued capacitating the health workforce on infection prevention and control measures and equipping health facilities with infection prevention materials.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-70
Author(s):  
Ali AlAhdal ◽  
Haila Al-Huraishi ◽  
Ahmad Almalag ◽  
Adel Alrusayes ◽  
Saud M Orfali

Objective: Novel newly discovered coronavirus, also known as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2, is a recently emerging virus that has been rapidly spreading globally since December 2019. Due to the vicinity inoro-dental treatment and aerosol production, people inside the dental office are at high risk of being infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2. This guideline aims to protect the dental health-care workers during their plans to re-open and increasingly continue their routine services until further notice from their governing body. Methods: A panel of experts in dentistry and infection prevention and control reviewed the local and global research and guidelines related to infection prevention and control during coronavirus disease-2019, along with the re-opening guidance provided by different entities. Results: Such a document might either be adopted or adapted to any regional and international organization that wishes to use a revised professional guideline in infection prevention and control dental services. Conclusion: A careful re-opening plan should be developed and implemented, including strict infection control measures before resuming the dental practice.


Author(s):  
Marwa Ahmed Abdelwahab ◽  
Eman Abdel Raheem Labah ◽  
Laila Mahmoud Sayed ◽  
Mohamed Mokhtar Elbedwey ◽  
Heba Mohamed Gabr

Objective: Infection is a leading cause of hospitalization and the second most common cause of mortality among hemodialysis (HD) patients. The aim of this study is to assess the impact of infection prevention and control education program on improving healthcare workers knowledge, attitude and practices and reducing incidence of infection in the hemodialysis unit. Methodology: All patients and healthcare workers in the unit within the study period were included. This study was conducted through 3 phases; Phase I: base line survey for assessment of infection prevention and control knowledge, attitude and practices among healthcare workers, Phase II: Intervention that included infection control standardized education program followed by post education survey. Phase III: Implementation of infection control program was done associated with assessment of blood born viruses (HCV, HBV & HIV) and monitoring patients for fever and/or local signs of inflammation at catheter exit or at skin around shunt to be subjected to blood culture. Results: Health care workers knowledge, attitude and practices of infection prevention and control before intervention were unsatisfactory followed by significant improvement reflecting the effectiveness of such interventions. Regarding incidence of infection there were three cases of blood stream infections; two of them were multidrug resistant organisms (MDROs) and no reported cases of seroconverion for HIV, HCV or HBV during study period.  Conclusion: Lack of knowledge about infection prevention and control practices in hemodialysis unit could be significantly improved by standardized education program which results in reducing incidence of infections in such units.


2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement 2) ◽  
pp. 223s-223s
Author(s):  
M. Faizan ◽  
S. Anwar ◽  
R.U.A. Kashif ◽  
R. Saleem ◽  
H. Javed ◽  
...  

Background: Overcrowding, lack of operational funds, and healthcare associated infections are major challenges at the Children Hospital Lahore, a public healthcare facility in Pakistan with 900 new pediatric cancer admissions annually. In 2014, a collaboration between My Child Matters (MCM), St. Jude Global Infectious Diseases Program (SJ-GID), and our institution was established to address these issues. Aim: To describe the effect of a collaborative improvement strategy on the infection prevention and control (IPC) standards in a pediatric oncology unit in a resource-limited setting. Methods: Our study was a prospective before-and-after study. We compare the WHO Hand Hygiene Self-Assessment Framework (HHSAF) and 4 modules of the St. Jude modified Infection Control Assessment Tool (ICAT) scores. Our strategy included: (1) creating a multidisciplinary team of pediatric hematology-oncology, infectious disease physicians, nurses, microbiologist, and a data manager, (2) engaging on monthly online IPC mentoring sessions with the SJ-GID and MCM mentors, (3) performing daily inpatient healthcare associated (HAI) surveillance rounds, and (4) providing regular hand hygiene training and compliance audits. Results: Our hand hygiene facility level per WHO scores increased from “Inadequate” during the baseline assessment to “Intermediate/Consolidation” by the end of 3-year implementation (122 vs 352 HHSAF scores). The sink: bed and hand sanitizer: bed ratios improved to 1:6 and 1:1 respectively. Six washrooms were added to our unit. ICAT general infection control module increased by 40% (45 vs 78 ICAT score) and hygiene compliance improved by 20% from baseline. Identification of HAI increased from baseline (4.07 vs 8.7 infections per 1000 patient days). A 25% of the isolates were multidrug-resistant microorganisms. Conclusion: Implementing a collaborative improvement strategy improved the IPC standards in our pediatric cancer center. The increase of HAI might be a result of a better surveillance and laboratory identification. Further targeted interventions should be develop to decrease HAI rates and infection-related morbidity and mortality in our population.


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