Transferable Disease And Health: A Case Study

Hand hygiene practices are important thing to infection prevention and control practice. As health provider especially ED staff or front liner, to follow hand washing protocols is necessary in any situation. According Practice Standard (2009) four major elements to preventing practice; hand washing, protective barriers, care of equipment and health practice of nurse. Cite from Health Promotion Agency for Northern Ireland, scientists has found around 45% of infections can be prevented by washing hands regularly. MOH (2010) increasing in hand-washing compliance by

Keeping a good standard of personal hygiene is important for the prevention of the development and spreading of infection, illnesses and bad odours. Children are taught from an early age about personal hygiene and its importance at giving across a positive body image and to reduce the risk of being bullied. People don’t like to be talked about in

Keeping a good standard of hygiene helps to prevent the development and spread of infections, illnesses and bad odours. There are many contributory factors that make up personal hygiene with the main ones being washing, oral care, hair care, nail care, wound care, cleansing of personal utensils. Personal hygiene is essentially the promotion and continuance of good health. Probably the most important aspect of all, food hygiene is very closely associated with personal hygiene. Poor personal cleansing can have a very significant effect on the start and spread of many illnesses through contact with foods, some that could be potentially life-threatening.

Hospital acquired infections (HAIs) affect over 1.7 million patients each year, causing almost 100,000 deaths annually in the United States alone (Johnson, 2010). According to the World Health Organization, HAIs are the most frequent adverse event in the healthcare industry. Fortunately, most of these infections can be prevented with one single intervention, proper hand hygiene (“The Evidence,” n.d.). Four out of five pathogens that cause illness are spread by direct contact. Proper hand hygiene eliminates these pathogens and helps to prevent cross-contamination and HAIs (Linton, 2015; “Hand Hygiene,” n.d.). Reduction of cross-contamination and HAIs improves patient outcomes, increases employee wellness, and lowers health care costs. Adherence to proper hand hygiene is the single most important safety measure in the health care setting. However, for many years compliance to proper hand hygiene in the healthcare industry has been dismally low. New and inventive measures must be implemented to increase compliance to proper hand hygiene and lower the rate of hospital-acquired infections.

Good health and safety of extremely important to reduce the risk of cross infection and

Germs and many other diseases spread primarily through airborne particles, skin to skin contact, and or touching objects such as door handles, hospital buttons, or by sharing patient possessions. Nurses and other health care clinicians are constantly in physical contact with many different patients, who all have varying illness’ and diseases themselves. Many may also carry a

Atul Gawande explains the single biggest problem facing hospitals in the spread of infection in his novel, Better. This is expressed in his conversation with the infection control team, where it is said that “their greatest difficulty is getting clinicians like me to do the one thing that consistently halts the spread of infection: wash our hands. (Gawande, 2007, 14)” He notes that diligence, one of his three core requirements for success in medicine, plays a huge role in enforcing a policy like handwashing. While everyone knows hand washing is important, especially in a hospital, letting health care professionals ignore the practice and make their own decisions about its criticality harms the whole population.

Controlling spread of infection is the key for the individual or the health care provider and washing hands is the first step. Hand washing is the most single most important strategy for preventing infection transmission. HAIs are the most common complication of hospital care. However, recent studies suggest that implementing existing prevention practices can lead to up to a 70 percent reduction in certain HAIs. The financial benefit of using these prevention practices is estimated to be $25.0 billion to $31.5 billion in medical cost savings (Healthypeople.gov 2020).

Healthcare associated infections have an impact on patients - how? Can be prevented greatly with compliance to hand hygiene protocols (REF).

Within the essay I am going to discuss whether good hand hygiene practices are the single most important factor in preventing cross infection. Some may argue for this statement others against. Jeanes A (2005) refers to the NMC code of professional conduct (2004) who state that you must act to identify and minimise risk to patients and clients.

are the principal route by which cross-infection occurs and that hand hygiene is the single

Recent studies show that at any time, over 1.4 million people worldwide suffer from hospital-acquired infections (Public Health Ontario). In Canada alone, approximately 250 000 patients every year contract infectious micro-organisms from their healthcare providers (Nagel 18). At London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) we take pride in providing world class care in a safe, comfortable environment for patients. However, between 2008 and 2010 the LHSC still had between 20 and 30 per cent non-compliance to proper hand-washing protocol (Nagel 20). This data is very troubling considering it is following the launch of “Just Clean Your Hands” pilot project. As student nurses and volunteers of the LHSC team we are equally responsible to increase hand-washing compliance.

results in death or survival with no disabilities so there are no other methods of prevention to discuss.

From experience with watching my uncle, I know that managing this chronic illness can be difficult. However, creating a brand new healthy life can benefit the disease in many ways. Massage creates a healthy alternative for pain management and stress reduction. Most people, like my uncle, hate taking their medicine because it doesn’t solve anything. One day I worked on my uncle’s back because he was complaining about it. I gave him a 30 minute chair massage and only focused on his back. A week later I followed up with him and he said that his back is totally relieved and that he has no more back pain. I believe that massage can correct a lot of symptoms to diseases rather than just being on drugs for the rest

attitudes and behaviours towards infection prevention and control and barriers to poor practice and reporting mechanisms; barriers and motivators to learning about infection prevention and control.