No / Despite wide acknowledgment that hand hygiene is the pre-eminent measure in the control of health-care-associated infection, Didier Pittet and colleagues 1 have highlighted that there is still a need for a systematic programme of research that will allow the development of new¿as well as refinement of existing¿approaches to hand cleansing. One of the key priorities Pittet and colleagues identified is the need for investigations into the relative importance of between and within patient cross-transmission

Central-line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) occur during the insertion or change of the dressing of the central venous catheter (CVC) and are reportable healthcare-associated infections at the state and the national level. The purpose of this systematic review of the literature was to evaluate and synthesize available evidence to establish the effectiveness of using an adhesive transparent chlorohexidine gluconate (CHG) Tegaderm™ gel dressing for CVC in the prevention of CLABSIs. The logic model was used as a framework to guide the review of the literature to establish how an intervention that is not currently practiced can contribute to CVC prevention of infection. The practice question focused on gathering evidence to support the effects of CHG Tegaderm™ gel central-line dressing compared with the Biopatch® dressing. A total of 373 articles were retrieved and 16 met the inclusion for review and were graded according to the Melnyk and Fineout-Overholt hierarchy level of evidence and evidence synthesis broken down into the reduction of CLABSI, the cost-effectiveness and ease of use of the CHG Tegaderm™ gel. Findings from the systematic review supported the use of CHG gel dressing as a CLABSI preventative measure. The findings from the project support positive social change by reducing CLABSI and associated illnesses and saving the increased cost, mortality, and morbidity associated with CLABSIs.

Bakgrund: VRI (vårdrelaterade infektioner) drabbar 57 000 patienter varje år tillföljd av inskrivning i slutenvården. Den vanligaste smittvägen inom sjukvården är kontaktsmitta. Vissa patienter löper större risk att smittas av VRI än andra, till exempel äldre människor som har ett mindre aktivt immunförsvar. Enligt ICN:s etiska kod är det sjuksköterskans ansvar att patientsäkerheten tillgodoses inom infektionsprevention (Svensk sjuksköterskeförening, 2017) . Genom att informera patienten gällande infektionsprevention kan en vårdande relation skapas mellan patienten och sjuksköterskan. VRI skapar fysiskt lidande för patienten men också psykiskt lidande. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att identifiera upplevda hinder och möjligheter som sjuksköterskan möts av vid infektionsprevention inom slutenvården. Metod: Metoden som användes var en litteraturöversikt där både kvalitativa och kvantitativa artiklar användes. Resultat: Fyra kategorier av upplevda hinder samt möjligheter identifierades vilket var; sjuksköterskans ansvar för patientens delaktighet, följsamhet hos vårdpersonal, motivera för förbättring och arbetsmiljö. Konklusion: För att kunna påverka sin arbetsplats och på lång sikt skapa förändring inom infektionsprevention, behöver sjuksköterskan stöd från ledningen och chefer. Det framkommer också att hinder som sjuksköterskan upplever kan elimineras om arbetsmiljön förbättras.

Thesis (MPH.) --University of Limpopo, 2019. / Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent of adherence to Infection Prevention and Control (IP&C) practices and programs amongst healthcare workers (HCWs) in the neonatal ward at Charlotte Maxeke Central Hospital (CMCH). Methods: Quantitative research was conducted on 57 Clinicians directly providing care to the patients and 5 Health Care Workers indirectly providing care to the patients by means of supporting the environment and logistics where patients are being taken care. Data collection was done using structured questionnaires. Because the population was so small, all available HCWs, who were willing to participate in the study were selected to participate in the study. Furthermore, the SAS statistical software was used to describe and analyse data received from the data collection tools. Results: Two groups of respondents participated in the study which were (n=57) who in the neonatal ward at CMCH and Health Care Workers (n=5), most of the clinicians were having 1 – 4 years’ experience working in the neonatal unit at 54.6% followed by 5 – 9 years at 21.8%. Participants were in the age group ≤ 30 years at 39.3% followed by 31 – 40 years (32.1%) and least being at ≥ 51 years (5.4%). Clinicians included 46% of professional nurses, 28.6% Auxiliary Nursing Assistant, 16.1% student nurses and 8.9% medical doctors. The findings revealed that there are some areas where there’s inconsistent in using gloves when anticipating exposure to blood or body fluids, drying of hands after washing and removing jewellery during clinical care among clinicians particularly doctors, professional nurses and student nurses about IPC practices during clinical care. In Conclusion: There was inadequate compliance with IPC standards and there’s a need for regular trainings to improve the knowledge about IPCs and awareness of its importance among clinicians and health care workers in the neonatal unit. The IPC committee need to be revitalized by the hospital management to be able to undertake its mandate. Furthermore, the Hospital administration should provide copies of IPPC policy Guidelines in all wards/units and ensure effective implementation through vi constant supervision and adequate supplies and conduct regular audits to enhance compliance and implementation of IPPC policy. The study concluded that there was inadequate compliance with IPC and there’s a need for regular trainings to improve the knowledge about IPCs and awareness of its importance among clinicians and health care workers in the neonatal unit.