Introduction
One of the typical occurrences in the nursing field is a lack of hygiene and the spread of infections. Healthcare practitioners must have extensive knowledge of guidelines for improving client hygiene, including hand washing using soap and clean water and minimizing infectious diseases, such as chronic diarrhea, cold and flu, and COVID-19. Unhygienic conditions, including poor sanitation, can cause the spread of germs from one person to another. Most nurses work in medical facilities with poor conditions exposing them to multiple infections. When engaging with their patients, patients who have not observed body and hand hygiene by washing with soap and water can transmit germs to the nurse in various ways, such as aerosol particles. Notably, the cases of gastroenteritis increased by 15%, hepatitis A by 10%, influenza by 8%, and common cold by 20% due to poor hygiene (Lowe et al., 2021). Therefore, with the number of germs-related ailments increasing gradually, hygiene and spreading infections is a substantial public issue requiring urgent attention.
Literature Review
To a great extent, the professional duties of nurses include examining, observing, and speaking to victims; recording their medical history; administering medications; and monitoring clients’ side effects. Therefore, they are highly exposed workers since they have constant patients who are unhygienic and can spread infections. Medical centers with low nurse staffing and overcrowding leading to deteriorated hand hygiene adherence are associated with increased severe outcomes and hospital disease outbreaks (Assefa et al., 2021). In the healthcare setting, there is a need to establish the frequency, causes, and prevention of infectious conditions. Even though the hospitals may lack the financial resources to purchase adequate disinfectants, the infection control committee must educate the patients and nurses on the essentiality of observing hygiene to deter the spread of ailments (Lowe et al., 2021). The occupational safety and health act (OSHA) mandates that employers establish a detailed infection control initiative and control measures to protect workers from exposure to contagious agents (Peters et al., 2020). Nurses who work in safe and healthy environments become more productive and tackle patient issues effectively.
Proposed Change
In the healthcare industry, control policies must be introduced to reduce incidents of the spread of infections. Therefore, the hospital management team must ensure adequate numbers of accessible, safe hand-washing points equipped with soap and that the water supplies are not contaminated. Fostering a culture of safety around the medical facility must be prioritized, whereby workers should communicate with patients on the importance of maintaining improved hygiene. Healthcare centers must have adequate nurses to attend to patients effectively and avoid overcrowding (Peters et al., 2020). Lastly, the nurses must be trained to wear protective gear, including gloves and surgical masks, while attending to clients to avoid contaminating hygiene-associated diseases.
Justification of the Proposed Change
Applying the abovementioned proposed changes is substantial to improving hygiene and reducing the spread of infections. Regarding safety, nurses must work in secure environments that do not risk their health and expose them to particular ailments. Therefore, employers should follow the OSHA legal guidelines to ensure safe working environments by training staff members and enforcing well-being standards (Assefa et al., 2021). Ethically, it would be wrong to allow healthcare practitioners to suffer from unhygienic conditions while offering treatment to patients. Lastly, the hospital’s management must execute a continuous quality improvement program targeting hand hygiene, which prevents healthcare-related infections.
Conclusion
Occupational health hazards, including contamination of hygiene-infectious diseases, are inevitable in the healthcare workplace. Due to hospital management’s lack of implementing effective control policies, nurses are infected with illnesses, including influenza, the common cold, and COVID-19. The medical facility executives must train workers on the importance of wearing protective gear while attending to different patients. Promoting changes, such as hiring more nurses to reduce overcrowding and having accessible disinfectant and clean water, can improve quality in the hospital environment and keep health practitioners from various infections.
References
Assefa, D., Melaku, T., Bayisa, B., & Alemu, S. (2021). Knowledge, attitude and self-reported performance and challenges of hand hygiene using alcohol-based hand sanitizers among healthcare workers during covid-19 pandemic at a tertiary hospital: A cross-sectional study. Infection and Drug Resistance, 14(4), 303-308.
Lowe, H., Woodd, S., Lange, I. L., Janjanin, S., Barnett, J., & Graham, W. (2021). Challenges and opportunities for infection prevention and control in hospitals in conflict-affected settings: A qualitative study. Conflict and Health, 15(1), 1-10.
Peters, A., Lotfinejad, N., Simniceanu, A., & Pittet, D. (2020). The economics of infection prevention: Why it is crucial to invest in hand hygiene and nurses during the novel coronavirus pandemic.Journal of Infection, 81(2), 318-356.