Sere sete

1. Astana medical university
DEPARTMENT : DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND HYGIENE
DISCIPLINE : FUNDAMENTALS OF OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY
NAME : AVNISH RATAN JAISWAL
SPECIALIZATION : GENERAL MEDICINE
GROUP : 255 GM
THEME : INFECTION SAFETY OF HEALTHCARE WORKERS

2. CONTENT
 INTRODUCTION
 HEALTHCARE WORKERS
 RISK ASSOCIATED WITH MEDICAL WORKER
 SOURCES OF INFECTION
 INFECTIOUS AGENTS CAUSING INFECTION IN HEALTHCARE
WORKERS
 PREVENTION
 PERSONAL HYGIENE MEASURES
 PROPOSED ACTIONS
 CONCLUSION
 REFERENCE

3. INTRODUCTION
Infections acquired during health-care delivery, more appropriately called health
care-associated infections, are a significant public health problem around the
world. Health care-associated infections can be acquired anywhere along the
continuum of health care settings, including long-term care, home care and
ambulatory care. They affect a large number of patients and health care workers
every year and frequently result in amplification of epidemics.
The growing emergence of antimicrobial resistance is proving that, without
appropriate infection control practices, health care facilities may act as permanent
reservoirs of resistance or amplify transmission of resistant bacteria within
facilities and in the community. The World Health Organization has taken several
measures and still taking to prevent the infection among the medical workers by
implementing several programmes , rules , education etc…

4. HEALTHCARE WORKER
A healthcare worker is anyone who works in a healthcare or social care
setting, including healthcare students on clinical placement, frontline
healthcare workers and other healthcare workers not in direct patient
contact.
These settings include, but are not limited to, state-funded and private
organizations providing services in the following areas: disability, older
persons, nursing homes, acute and non acute hospitals, community
hospitals, mental health, social inclusion, palliative care, chronic illness,
primary care (GP, dental, pharmacies, physiotherapy clinics), health and
well being, hospice, rehabilitation, home care, paramedics, and community
services (e.g. youth, substance abuse, suicide prevention, community
development).

5. RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH MEDICAL WORKERS
Healthcare workers are a key risk group because of the nature of their work. Health-care
workers are exposed to many microbiological agents that are present in patients. During the
SARS epidemics, 37%–63% of cases in some of the highly affected countries were among
health care workers . Other infections are diarrheal diseases ; more serious infections do
sometimes occur like needle - stick injuries during work with HIV patients etc…
The control of occupational exposure to biological agents in the healthcare setting is covered
by the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH).
Effective functioning of health care settings depends on a number of environmental
requirements, including safe and sufficient water, basic sanitation, adequate management of
health care waste, appropriate knowledge and application of hygiene, and adequate
ventilation.
Unsafe waste management remains a potential source of infection transmission in the region
of medical services . Experiences show that, often, health care waste management does not
follow any standard and appropriate infection control procedures.

6. SOURCES OF INFECTION
 Door handles
 Floors
 Medical equipment
 Laundry and linens : Porous materials like bed linens, patient gowns, towels and window
curtains can hold onto pathogens for longer periods of time. Used linens should be placed
in laundry bags and brought directly to the laundry facilities for sanitization. Soiled
linens should be removed immediately to prevent pathogens from spreading .
 Lavatories : Patient lavatories can be one of the biggest reservoirs of infectious
pathogens.
 Furniture : Beds, chairs and cabinets are all high-touch objects that must be cleaned
daily and after patient discharge.
 Personal protective equipment (PPE) : When working with patients with infectious
diseases, healthcare providers should dispose their PPE in specially marked containers.

7. INFECTIOUS AGENTS CAUSING INFECTION IN
HEALTHCARE WORKERS
Infectious agents are organisms that are capable of producing infection or infectious
disease. They include bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites. Healthcare workers have a
high risk of contact with infectious agents due to the various types of activities involved
with their jobs and the possibilities of contamination. Some of them are :
 Bloodborne Pathogens (BBP): HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C
 Influenza (FLU) that maybe
1. Seasonal
2. Pandemic
3. Avian
4. Swine
 Ebola
 Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
 Tuberculosis (TB)
 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)
 Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)

8. PREVENTION
Personal protection equipment (PPE) is all equipment used by an employee, during work,
for protection against risks and dangers that may represent a threat to health or security for
the individual.
Examples of PPE used in the laboratory are gloves, goggles/face protection, respirators,
hearing protection, lab. coat and protective footwear. Some are as follows :
1. Protective gloves
Protective gloves are found in many types, there are large differences in material,
construction, comfort and area of use. The various materials differ in their ability to
withstand various substances. There are no gloves that provide optimal protection for all
types of working operations. It is therefore very important to choose the correct type of
glove in order to achieve optimal protection for a specific operation. In some instances it
can be advantageous to combine different types of gloves for optimal protection.
2. Eye protection
It can be used when the medical worker is needed to come in contact with the blood , body
fluids , secretions , excretions etc… To prevent the contact with these goggles / face shield
can be used.

9. PREVENTION
3. Respiratory protection
There are many different types of respiratory protection equipment, the choice depending
on what it is to protect against. Respiratory protection equipment provides safety against
for example:
 Dust and smoke
 Gases and vapours
 Aerosols
 Biological factors
There are two main types of respiratory protection equipment; those that filter and those
that are based on air-supply.
 Filtering respiratory protection equipment
Can be used if a suitable filter is available and if the concentration of the polluting
substance is not very high. Both half-masks and particle masks are the most common
variants used . Whole masks with or without a hood are also in use.
• Air-supplied respiratory protection equipment
Rarely used . This type of equipment either contains a motor that produces under
pressurised, such that air is sucked through the filter, or is attached to a compressed air
tank that supplies fresh air.

10. PREVENTION
4. Laboratory coat
When performing experimental work a laboratory coat is to be used to protect clothes ,
infectious agents and skin. Use coats made of cotton, since those made of synthetic
material generate static electricity and can lead to serious burns if an accident should
occur.
5. Protection ventilation :
Protective ventilation means special ventilation installations primarily used for personal
protection during work operations where there is a risk of exposure to harmful airborne
substances.
There are several different types of ventilation systems, the common ones are:
 Spot ventilation
 Ventilation hood
 Ventilated cabinet
 Fume hood (cupboard)
 Ventilation bench
 Safety bench

11. PERSONAL HYGIENE MEASURES
Personal hygiene measures :
Personal hygiene practices are the overall behaviors, activities, and actions that can
help the medical workers from spreading viruses and bacteria . They can be
summed up into some categories:
1. Hand practices: employees shall follow proper hand washing procedures; avoid
wearing fingernail polish or false fingernails; use single-use gloves properly; and
avoid bare hand contact.
2. Personal cleanliness: medical employees shall maintain an overall state of
cleanliness, including showering or bathing before work.
3. Work Attire: medical employees shall wear effective hair restraints, clean clothing
and clean aprons.
OTHER MEASURES :
 use of aseptic technique where required
 appropriate reprocessing of reusable instruments and equipment
 safe handling and disposal of sharps and potentially infectious material
 safe handling of waste and linen
 environmental controls including cleaning and spills management.

12. PROPOSED ACTIONS FOR INFECTION CONTROL
An effective infection prevention and control programme among medical worker can only be achieved
when all essential elements are implemented in a systematic way in the context of a specific health care
environment. These core components should be implemented both at national and health care facility
levels.
The following actions are proposed:
a) Organization of infection prevention and control programmes
b) Development, dissemination and implementation of evidence-based guidelines.
c) Human capacity-building. The national level infection prevention and control authority should
establish the required contents and elements both for basic training in infection prevention and control for
all health care personnel and specialized training of infection control professionals (technical teams).
d) Surveillance and assessment of compliance with infection prevention and control
practices.
e) Microbiology laboratory support. Microbiology laboratory support is essential for an infection
prevention and control programme, particularly in highly complex health care settings (e.g. intensive care,
dialysis).
f) Environmental requirements for infection prevention and control.
g) Monitoring and evaluation of infection prevention and control programmes.
h) Links with public health and other services/societal bodies.

13. CONCLUSION
The starting point for preventing health care-associated infections in the region of
medical workers is to appreciate the burden of such infections, including the
associated costs to health care, as an emerging public health problem, and to
increase awareness that the majority of these infections are preventable by
measures that are simple, feasible and achievable in any economic setting.
Developing and implementing national policies, strategies and programmes for
infection prevention and control require a health system approach and sustained
response across all levels of the health care system.
The Regional Office will support Member States in developing evidence-based
infection control programmes suitable for their own country context. It can also
support periodic assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of national
infection control programmes. The Regional Office will provide leadership and
launch regional initiatives to bring together all stakeholders, including national
governments, international organizations and networks of regional experts,
professional bodies and hospital administrators.

14. REFERENCE
 https://medlineplus.gov/infectioncontrol.html
 https://www.cdc.gov/infectioncontrol/pdf/infection-control-HCW.pdf
 https://www.cdc.gov/infectioncontrol/guidelines/helthcare-
personnel/index.html
 https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/332336
 World Health Organization. Hand hygiene: Why, how & when. Geneva
World Health Organization; 2009
(https://www.who.int/gpsc/5may/Hand_Hygiene_Why_How_and_W
hen_Brochure.pdf, accessed 9 July 2021).
 https://www.who.int/docs/default source/documents/health-
topics/standard-precautionsin-health-care.pdf.