Improving Adherence to Hand Hygiene Practice - Assignment Example

Most of the medical practitioners suggests and implies that majority of the diseases today is being acquired by hand. Of such a ment hasits basis due to the fact that the hand is the most commonly used part of the body, carrying and holding different kind of things which sometimes are carriers of viruses and bacteria that are harmful to a man's life. With this, majority of the medical doctors and practitioners are advancing and promoting hand hygiene as a way of life. If we are to deal with this, looking into the definition of hand hygiene is an important thing to do to better understand what hand hygiene is. Medicinenet.com (2007) defined hygiene as "The science of preventive medicine and the preservation of health. From the name of Hygeia, the daughter of Asklepios, the Greek god of medicine (whose staff with entwined snake is the symbol of medicine). Asklepios (known to the Romans as Aesculapius) had a number of children including not only Hygeia but also Panaceia, the patroness of clinical medicine. Hygeia also followed her father into medicine. As the patroness of health, Hygeia was charged with providing a healthy environment to prevent illness. In Greek, "hygieia" means health." It is a fact that, the hands is the most exposed external part of the body, primarily, it is because of the things that hands, is the body part that holds different things regardless of whether clean or not. Specifically, it is the function of this body part. If it is established that hands are the parts that hold and touch different things. During the duration of holding and touching different things, hands are exposed to different viruses and bacteria, including toxins and other chemicals which are harmful to the health of a certain person. However, these harmful elements cannot penetrate the human body without entering the entry points to the internal area of the body. This can be made possible by eating without washing the infected hand, penetration of these harmful elements on pores and nails which can cause possible internal and external infection should these elements are present in the hands. Also, in different hospitals and medical institutions wherein nurses and doctors sometimes are attending more than one patient contamination of germs and diseases if possible and can be transmitted from one patient to the other and even these medical practitioner and staff if these health workers don't practice hand hygiene. Basically, if health workers are not observing hand hygiene, how could one expect an ordinary individual to practice the aforementioned hygiene The website medscape.com (2001) pointed out that "The challenge of hand hygiene promotion could be summarized in one question: How can health-care workers' behavior be changed Tools for change are known; some have been tested, and others need to be tested. Some may prove irrelevant in the future; others have worked in some institutions and need to be tested in others. Infection control professionals should promote and conduct outstanding research and provide solutions to improve health-care worker adherence with hand hygiene and enhance patient safety." In adopting hand hygiene, one must understand that applying the principle doesn't rely on the washing and sanitizing of hands alone. It is in the way how hands are being utilized to contain and hold several harmful elements. Instead of containing such elements with bare hands, the use of gloves is also an important part of hand hygiene to protect one's self. There are a lot of things to be considered in order to imply and practice hand hygiene in several manners. The Department of Health and Human Services of the United States stressed the needs of using hand gloves on infected patients directing that "A single pair of patient care gloves should be worn for contact with blood and body fluids, including during hand contact with respiratory secretions (e.g., providing oral care, handling soiled tissues). Gloves made of latex, vinyl, nitrile, or other synthetic materials are appropriate for this purpose; if possible, latex-free gloves should be available for healthcare workers who have latex allergy (2006)." The aforementioned health services agency further stressed that hands can also be a factor of viral transmission of different diseases like the disease called influenza. The excerpt from www.cdc.gov stated that "Direct-contact transmission involves skin-to-skin contact and physical transfer of microorganisms to a susceptible host from an infected or colonized person, such as occurs when personnel turn patients, bathe patients, or perform other patient-care activities that require physical contact. Direct-contact transmission also can occur between two patients (e.g., by hand contact), with one serving as the source of infectious microorganisms and the other as a susceptible host. Indirect-contact transmission involves contact of a susceptible host with a contaminated intermediate object, usually inanimate, in the patient's environment. Contact transmission of influenza may occur through either direct skin-to-skin contact or through indirect contact with virus in the environment. Transmission via contaminated hands and fomites has been suggested as a contributing factor in some studies. However, there is insufficient data to determine the proportion of influenza transmission that is attributable to direct or indirect contact" Upon knowing and dealing with the negative implications of not observing hand hygiene, then the importance of it is now realized. On the second thought, how really important it is to practice hand hygiene. Of course, it doesn't take a genius to conclude that such actions would help prevent and lessen the transition and acquisition of viral and contagious infections that would harm one's health. In dealing with hand hygiene Kolhapure S (2001) also implies that "Proper hand hygiene is the most important, simplest, and least expensive means of preventing nosocomial infections and the spread of microbial resistance. Thorough hand washing with adequate quantities of water and soap removes more than 90 per cent of the transient, i.e. superficial flora including all or most contaminants. An antimicrobial soap will further reduce the transient flora, but only if used for several minutes. Hand washing with (non-medicated) soap is essential when hands are dirty and should be routine after physical contact with a patient. However, killing all transient flora with all contaminants within a short time (a few seconds) necessitates hygienic hand disinfection: only alcohol or alcoholic preparations are fast acting and efficacious" As simple as it looks like and simple to be practiced, hand hygiene is simply a thing that should not be taken for granted in order to prevent several diseases and an activity to make the hands clean. However, why is it that there are one few who practice hand hygiene. Other than the reason that medical and health practitioners are not practicing it which is in fact they are the ones who should practice it primarily, there must be other reasons why some people tend to disregard the hand hygiene practice. It is because of laziness and other negative characteristics of an individual are the main reason why such things are considered to be the prime factor of such practice. The result of such negligence is huge to the extent of endangering one's health. Snyder P (2007) further implied that the result of it includes putting the health of individuals into malady. He pointed out that "Due to a lack of adequate hand washing by individuals who prepare, process and handle food in the retail food system, foodborne illness due to fecal-oral transfer continues to be a problem. As a result, the public is demanding that employees in the food service industry wear plastic gloves when serving or preparing food items. The perceived purpose of glove use by food preparation and food production personnel is to prevent the transfer of pathogenic microorganisms that may remain on the surface of fingertips when individuals do not wash their hands and fingertips at all or adequately after using the toilet or after touching other highly contaminated items, surfaces, or objects..." Subsequently, such premise is an indication that though simple as it is, the neglect of hand hygiene could cause tremendous amount of damage by putting the health of those concerned at risk. Hand hygiene is just a simple endeavor and task that if one learns to apply to his/herself, there are a lot of benefits that would encircle ones life in practicing such hygiene. The aforementioned author also implied that such a practice was being observed in the US food market. "A simple hand wash program that is adequate and necessary for preventing the transfer of pathogenic microorganisms is described. If employees are trained to use this hand wash program so that the removal of transient pathogenic microorganisms from hands and fingertips is assured, the use of gloves is negated. This hand wash program is being used successfully by thousands of employees in retail food operations in the U.S. to assure the control of fecal-oral foodborne illness." Adopting hand hygiene as a way of lifestyle is very beneficial since it would further promote cleanliness in one's self as well as prevention of several contagious, bacterial and viral diseases. After all, Stone SP, Teare L, Cookson BD (2001) stated that "The evidence that hand hygiene reduces infection is strengthened by our own review of studies (excluding before and after observational studies and those that did not measure or enforce handwashing). This found nine studies (three randomised controlled trials, five controlled trials, and one multiple crossover trial) showing major reductions in infection related outcomes across a wide range of clinical settings. The effect is so great (commonly reported odds ratios and relative risks of 0.4) that if "hand hygiene" were a new drug it would be accepted without question." Reference: 1) Medicinenet.com (2007). Hygiene.[online] available from http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asparticlekey=7324 2) medscape.com (2001). Improving Adherence to Hand Hygiene Practice. [online] available from http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/414396_10 3) Department of Health and Human Services of the United States (2006) Infection control practices for healthcare personnel. [online] available from http://www.hhs.gov/pandemicflu/plan/sup4.html#s4-IV 4) Snyder P (2007) A "SAFE HANDS" HAND WASH PROGRAM FOR RETAIL FOOD OPERATIONS" International Specialty Supply [online] http://www.sproutnet.com/Reports/safe_hands.htm 5) Stone SP, Teare L, Cookson BD (2001). The evidence for hand-hygiene. Lancet 2001; 357: 479-480. [online] available from http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/323/7310/411 Read More