COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in Healthcare Personnel: A University Hospital Experience

Healthcare workers are among risk groups in the COVID-19. Even if they are not infected with the disease, they witness the effects of the pandemic. The aim of the study is to determine the factors affecting COVID-19 vaccination status and reasons for vaccine hesitancy of healthcare personnel in our hospital. Firstly, the vaccination status and demographic characteristics of all healthcare personnel was evaluated. After that, a survey was applied to 408 vaccinated and 297 nonvaccinated personnel. Within the first month after the beginning of vaccination, 66% of 3937 healthcare personnel received a COVID-19 vaccine. The number of vaccinated personnel was higher among doctors, master graduates or higher educational levels and basic science-laboratory unit workers. In the surveyed group, being under the age of 50 (OR:1.85), being nondoctor healthcare personnel (nurse/midwife OR:1.78, administrative personnel OR:3.42, patient attendant/cleaning staff OR:4.11, security guard/other OR:2.96), having had the disease before (OR:2.36), not having the flu vaccine (OR:3.24) and hesitancy about other vaccines (OR:6.61) were found to be independent risk factors for not having a COVID-19 vaccine or having it late. The three most common reasons for not getting vaccinated were doubt on the efficacy of the vaccine, distrust of its content, and fear of side effects. Taking steps by considering the main factors of hesitancy among healthcare personnel will increase the vaccine acceptance.

Aplikasi ngresiki untuk pelaporan penumpukan sampah memanfaatkan Global Positioning System (GPS) dan firebase

Increasing human productivity accompanied by increasingly advanced developments has an impact on the need for faster and easier communication and data exchange, one of which is using a mobile smartphone. ReResik application is an application that is used to report the accumulation of garbage. Garbage accumulation is a problem that is often encountered, one of which is in Gunungkidul tourism objects, so there needs to be a solution to solve this problem. One solution is to utilize Global Positioning System (GPS) and Firebase technology to create a waste reporting application. The use of GPS can make it easier to report the accumulation of garbage in a place by utilizing geo tagging technology and the complexity of the features found in Firebase provide user convenience both in terms of application development and the use of features in applications that can facilitate reporting and recipients of waste reports. All functions in the ReResik Application run according to design. Tests in the field can show the location of the accumulation of waste with photos sent with the difference in the accuracy of the location where the report of accumulation of waste occurs 1.38 meters from the location point sent by the application. The average data transfer capability of the ReResik Application upload is 1161.8 ms for the reporting section and 1004.2 ms for the cleaning staff. Functional testing of photos uploaded to Firebase has gone through the process of automatically compressing photos with an average value percentage of 61.22% of the uploaded photo size.

Evaluation of environmental cleaning quality: an observational study at a tertiary hospital in Wuhan, China

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the role of environmental cleaning in controlling infection transmission in hospitals. However, cleaning practice remains inadequate. An important component of effective cleaning is to obtain feedback on actual cleaning practice. This study aimed to evaluate the cleaning process quality from an implementation perspective. Methodology: An observational study was conducted in a tertiary public hospital in Wuhan, China and 92 cleaning processes of units housing patients with multidrug-resistant organism infections were recorded. The bed unit cleaning quality and floor cleaning quality were measured by six and five process indicators respectively. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the cleaning quality. Results: For bed unit cleaning quality, the appropriate rates of cleaning sequence, adherence to cleaning unit principle, use of cloth, use of cloth bucket, separation of clean and contaminated tools, and disinfectant concentration were 35.9%, 71.7%, 89.7%, 11.5%, 65.4%, and 48.7%, respectively. For floor cleaning quality, the appropriate rates of adherence to cleaning unit principle, use of cloth, use of cloth bucket, separation of clean and contaminated tools, and disinfectant concentration were 13.4%, 50.0%, 35.5%, 11.0%, and 36.7%, respectively. Conclusions: The cleaning staff showed poor environmental cleaning quality, especially the floor cleaning quality. The findings can help reveal deficiencies in cleaning practices, raise awareness of these deficiencies, and inform targeted strategies to improve cleaning quality and hospital safety.

Possible transmission of Covid-19 infection among healthcare professionals; first defense to early wave of the pandemic

Objective: Healthcare professionals play an essential role in the COVID-19 pandemic on the front lines. There have been a limited number of publications and national status reports on COVID-19 infected healthcare professionals. We aimed to determine the factors that play a role in transmitting COVID-19 infection to healthcare professionals. Material and methods: Among healthcare professionals, those evaluated as a possible COVID-19 case and whose Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests were studied in our Emergency Service and Employee Health Polyclinic were included in the study. Age, gender, task, unit, working in COVID-19 units, Thorax Computerized Tomography (CT) and PCR test result, hospitalization status, suspicious contact, and appropriate use of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the work environment and social environment were investigated. Results: A total of 369 cases were included in the study. 54.7% (n = 207) of potential COVID-19 healthcare professionals worked in COVID-19 units, 22.5% (n = 83) had PCR positive. Employee groups with the highest PCR positivity rate were security guards (88.9%), cleaning staff (31.6%), doctors (26.3%) and nurses (18.8%), respectively. When contact histories with COVID-19 infection were examined; 46.3% of the cases had in-hospital social contact (PCR positivity rate 21.6%), 39.6% had a history of contact with COVID-19 patients (PCR positivity rate 11%). It was determined that 3.3% of the cases (n = 12) were treated in the COVID-19 service, 0.3% (n = 1) was hospitalized in intensive care, 26% (n = 96) were isolated at home, and 70.5 % (n = 260) continued to work. All of the participants were discharged after treatment and returned to their duties. Conclusion: Adequate training should be given to healthcare professionals to protect them against COVID-19 infection. Additionally, healthcare professionals should show the care to prevent infection in social areas inside and outside the hospital as well as at contact points with patients.

Nurse attıtudes towards cleanıng blood pressure cuffs: profile in Turkey

Purpose: Presenting how blood pressure cuffs are cleaned by nurses and which disinfectant agents are used in cleaning the cuffs will allow conducting detailed studies that can establish a standard procedure for cuff cleaning. However, there is no study on the views of nurses and application procedures regarding the cleaning of blood pressure cuffs. Therefore, this study aimed to determine nurses' attitudes regarding cleaning the blood pressure cuffs in Turkey. Materials and methods: The study sample was composed of nurses working in Turkey who were invited and agreed to participate in the study from February to March 2021. This study was completed with 286 nurses with 90% power. Research data were collected online via Google Forms. Results: In the study, 64.3% of the nurses stated that the cleaning staff should be responsible for cleaning the cuffs. 29.4% reported that the cuffs were cleaned several times a month, and 20.3% stated that cuffs were cleaned only when they were infected. 52.1% reported that alcohol was used for cleaning the cuffs. Conclusions: Nurses agreed on the necessity of cuff cleaning and that the cuffs could be a source of infection when they were not cleaned. Since nurses have an important role in infection control, they should play an active role in cuff cleaning and receive training on this issue.

THE POLICY INSTRUMENTS OF STREET VENDOR RELOCATION IN SURABAYA BULAK FISH CENTER

The purpose of this study was to determine the policy instruments used by the Surabaya City Government to move street vendors to Bulak Fish Center. The background is because not all street vendors are ready to occupy the Bulak Fish Center. This study uses Howleet and Ramesh's theory to categorize policy instruments into three groups: Voluntary, Combined, and Compulsory Instruments. The research method used is descriptive qualitative with in-depth interviews. The research results reveal that the Surabaya City Government uses only five types of policy instruments. First, families and communities provide information to the community about the relocation of street vendors to Bulak Fish Center. Second, policies provide space to interact with street vendors, community leaders, and religious groups. Third, the policy of providing information and advice to all Surabaya local governments to keep Bulak Fish Center alive for a month. Fourth, the policy prohibiting selling in the old location. Fifth, the policy is to provide cleaning staff and transport vehicles directly to roadside vendors. However, 50 percent of the street vendors are still willing to occupy the Bulak Fish Center. Thus, the policy tools used by the Surabaya City Government have not been optimal, so that it has become a factor in the failure of roadside trade relocation operations.

Analysis of Waste Management Policy in Lamongan Regency

The environment is a place where living things carry out their daily activities. Of course, in carrying out these activities, living things need a healthy environment and a comfortable atmosphere. Environmental problems are generally caused by natural events, rapid population growth, overuse of natural resources, industrialization and transportation. One of them is the waste problem. Waste produced by humans has an influence on environmental changes. The implementation of waste management is intended so that waste can be managed properly to create a clean and healthy living environment. This study aims to formulate the best alternative policy as an effort to address the problems of implementing waste management in Lamongan Regency. The research method used is descriptive qualitative method. In formulating policy alternatives using Bridgman and Davies' policy analysis process theory which consists of five stages, namely 1) Formulation of Policy Problems, 2) Formulating Goals and Targets, 3) Identifying Policy Parameters, 4) Finding Policy Alternatives and 5) Deciding Policy Alternatives Selected. The results showed that the implementation of waste management in Lamongan Regency that occurred was a problem of the amount of waste that was increasing from time to time and the amount of waste that was managed could not reach 50% of the total waste. Factors causing the problem are caused by: Inadequate fleet of facilities and infrastructure; Limited budget funds; Inadequate cleaning staff; and the level of public awareness of waste care is still low.

Outbreaks of healthcare-associated infections linked to water-containing hospital equipment: a literature review

Background Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in hospitalized patients. Water in the environment can be a source of infection linked to outbreaks and environmental transmission in hospitals. Water safety in hospitals remains a challenge. This article has summarized available scientific literature to obtain an overview of outbreaks linked to water-containing hospital equipment and strategies to prevent such outbreaks. Methods We made a list of water-containing hospital equipment and devices in which water is being used in a semi-closed circuit. A literature search was performed in PubMed with a search strategy containing the names of these medical devices and one or more of the following words: outbreak, environmental contamination, transmission, infection. For each medical device, we summarized the following information: the function of the medical device, causes of contamination, the described outbreaks and possible prevention strategies. Results The following water-containing medical equipment or devices were identified: heater-cooler units, hemodialysis equipment, neonatal incubators, dental unit waterlines, fluid warmers, nebulizers, water traps, water baths, blanketrol, scalp cooling, and thermic stimulators. Of the latter three, no literature could be found. Of all other devices, one or more outbreaks associated with these devices were reported in the literature. Conclusions The water reservoirs in water-containing medical devices can be a source of microbial growth and transmissions to patients, despite the semi-closed water circuit. Proper handling and proper cleaning and disinfection can help to reduce the microbial burden and, consequently, transmission to patients. However, these devices are often difficult to clean and disinfect because they cannot be adequately opened or disassembled, and the manufacturer’s cleaning guidelines are often not feasible to execute. The development of equipment without water or fluid containers should be stimulated. Precise cleaning and disinfection guidelines and instructions are essential for instructing healthcare workers and hospital cleaning staff to prevent potential transmission to patients.

Solar Powered Dustbin for Efficient Waste Management

This paper represents the study of smart dustbin for efficient waste management. Nowadays, Urbanization has increased tremendously, at the same time there is an increase in waste production. Waste management is a crucial issue to be considered. So we are developing a Smart Dustbin which will sense the position of humans and automatically open the lid of the dustbin to throw garbage. It will monitor the garbage and inform about the levels of garbage collected in the dustbin via sending SMS to the cleaning staff or the supervisor. Once the garbage reaches the threshold level, the ultrasonic sensor will trigger the GSM modem which will continuously alert the cleaning staff and supervisor until the garbage in the dustbin is squashed. Foul smell from the rotten wastes that remain untreated for a long time, due to the negligence of authorities and carelessness of the public may lead to long-term problems. So once these smart bins are implemented on a large scale, waste can be managed efficiently as it avoids unnecessary lumping of wastes on the roadside and keeps the city clean and restricts the spread of diseases through this.