Browsing by Subject "Infection Control"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Infection Control through the Work Order Process in Health Care Facilities
    (2020-04-20) Michael, Christopher; Ray, Matt; Goodman, David; Cooney, Elaine
    Construction, demolition, and maintenance projects in the hospital setting and in other health care facilities provide a challenging and rewarding employment opportunity to the construction trades. This type of work is significantly different than in other types of commercial settings in the fact that patient safety through the environment is first and foremost. Working both efficiently and safely maximize process improvement and overall employee satisfaction throughout an organization by understanding the policies and expectations. It also requires a sharing of knowledge through all of the construction trades about complex issues such as infection prevention, containment types, specialty tools, proper dress, and how critical communication is. In 2017, The Joint Commission, a major hospital accrediting body, addressed several issues that relate to construction, maintenance, and demolition. The need to have an Infection Control Risk assessment for work orders to ensure hospital trades are minimizing the risk of spreading infection through health care facilities is a top priority. The Joint Commission does not set out how hospital workers should do their jobs, but it is looking to see ways in which health care facilities take action to adequately address the issue of infections spreading through construction, maintenance, and demolition. Having a clearly defined process in place to address work orders as they come into the computer maintenance management system (CMMS) will help identify the level of infection control needed, the tools, barriers, and specialty items to minimize the risk of exposing patients to infections. The process will include identifying the critical areas of the hospital, the flow of work identification, (regular power tools are not allowed without HEPA filters in certain regions), barriers, and materials, if any, as well as any associated costs.
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    Knowledge of infection prevention and control among healthcare workers and factors influencing compliance: a systematic review
    (BMC, 2021) Alhumaid, Saad; Al Mutair, Abbas; Al Alawi, Zainab; Alsuliman, Murtadha; Ahmed, Gasmelseed Y.; Rabaan, Ali A.; Al-Tawfiq, Jaffar A.; Al-Omari, Awad; Medicine, School of Medicine
    BACKGROUND: Knowledge of infection prevention and control (IPC) procedures among healthcare workers (HCWs) is crucial for effective IPC. Compliance with IPC measures has critical implications for HCWs safety, patient protection and the care environment. AIMS: To discuss the body of available literature regarding HCWs' knowledge of IPC and highlight potential factors that may influence compliance to IPC precautions. DESIGN: A systematic review. A protocol was developed based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis [PRISMA] statement. DATA SOURCES: Electronic databases (PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, Proquest, Wiley online library, Medline, and Nature) were searched from 1 January 2006 to 31 January 2021 in the English language using the following keywords alone or in combination: knowledge, awareness, healthcare workers, infection, compliance, comply, control, prevention, factors. 3417 papers were identified and 30 papers were included in the review. RESULTS: Overall, the level of HCW knowledge of IPC appears to be adequate, good, and/or high concerning standard precautions, hand hygiene, and care pertaining to urinary catheters. Acceptable levels of knowledge were also detected in regards to IPC measures for specific diseases including TB, MRSA, MERS-CoV, COVID-19 and Ebola. However, gaps were identified in several HCWs' knowledge concerning occupational vaccinations, the modes of transmission of infectious diseases, and the risk of infection from needle stick and sharps injuries. Several factors for noncompliance surrounding IPC guidelines are discussed, as are recommendations for improving adherence to those guidelines. CONCLUSION: Embracing a multifaceted approach towards improving IPC-intervention strategies is highly suggested. The goal being to improve compliance among HCWs with IPC measures is necessary.
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    THE PERCEIVED AND REAL VALUE OF HEALTH INFORMATION EXCHANGE IN PUBLIC HEALTH SURVEILLANCE
    (2011-08-22) Dixon, Brian Edward; Jones, Josette F.; McGowan, Julie J.; Grannis, Shaun J.; Gamache, Roland E.
    Public health agencies protect the health and safety of populations. A key function of public health agencies is surveillance or the ongoing, systematic collection, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of data about health-related events. Recent public health events, such as the H1N1 outbreak, have triggered increased funding for and attention towards the improvement and sustainability of public health agencies’ capacity for surveillance activities. For example, provisions in the final U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) “meaningful use” criteria ask that physicians and hospitals report surveillance data to public health agencies using electronic laboratory reporting (ELR) and syndromic surveillance functionalities within electronic health record (EHR) systems. Health information exchange (HIE), organized exchange of clinical and financial health data among a network of trusted entities, may be a path towards achieving meaningful use and enhancing the nation’s public health surveillance infrastructure. Yet the evidence on the value of HIE, especially in the context of public health surveillance, is sparse. In this research, the value of HIE to the process of public health surveillance is explored. Specifically, the study describes the real and perceived completeness and usefulness of HIE in public health surveillance activities. To explore the real value of HIE, the study examined ELR data from two states, comparing raw, unedited data sent from hospitals and laboratories to data enhanced by an HIE. To explore the perceived value of HIE, the study examined public health, infection control, and HIE professionals’ perceptions of public health surveillance data and information flows, comparing traditional flows to HIE-enabled ones. Together these methods, along with the existing literature, triangulate the value that HIE does and can provide public health surveillance processes. The study further describes remaining gaps that future research and development projects should explore. The data collected in the study show that public health surveillance activities vary dramatically, encompassing a wide range of paper and electronic methods for receiving and analyzing population health trends. Few public health agencies currently utilize HIE-enabled processes for performing surveillance activities, relying instead on direct reporting of information from hospitals, physicians, and laboratories. Generally HIE is perceived well among public health and infection control professionals, and many of these professionals feel that HIE can improve surveillance methods and population health. Human and financial resource constraints prevent additional public health agencies from participating in burgeoning HIE initiatives. For those agencies that do participate, real value is being added by HIEs. Specifically, HIEs are improving the completeness and semantic interoperability of ELR messages sent from clinical information systems. New investments, policies, and approaches will be necessary to increase public health utilization of HIEs while improving HIEs’ capacity to deliver greater value to public health surveillance processes.