...population has tuberculosis. This highly contagious disease is spread through droplets in the air when an actively infected person coughs, spits, talks, sings, or sneezes and an uninfected person is close and catches the bacteria by inhaling it. A large majority of those infected do not have symptoms, which is known as latent tuberculosis. Ten percent of those with latent TB developed an active infection in their lifetime and about half of those with active TB will die from the disease. Symptoms may be mild the first few weeks or months of the disease, easily spreading to others due to how highly contagious it is. The farthest back scientists have discovered TB is 2400BC through the spinal fragments of ancient Egyptian mummies. It was also found in bone fragments in South American from 750BC. Records prior to the 19th century have described this disease which then was also called consumption, white plague, dread disease, or the king’s evil. The spread of TB reached a peak during the 19th century Industrial Revolution in Europe where it killed one out of every seven people infected (UK Essays, 2014). The disease eventually spread to the United States when a large number of people immigrated to America and cities became vastly overpopulated and living conditions were poor. Symptoms of tuberculosis are common and easy to identify. These classic symptoms include fever, chills, night sweats, anorexia and weight...
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...Inquiry into health care Assignment 1 This essay aims to thoroughly examine the importance of evidence-based practice within the health care setting. The use of evidence-based practice as a practical framework to locate, appraise and apply the best research will further discussed throughout this essay. In addition this essay will explore how health care professionals can use the five steps of evidence based practice (EBP) as a practical framework to overcoming barriers to locating, appraising and applying the best research evidence in relation to Occupational Health and Safety (OHS). The use of hand washing in relation to infection control will be the OHS area explored. Evidence based practice is a framework that involves an expert finding experimental evidence concerning the value of or effectiveness of altered treatment options, the significance of this evidence is then established in relation to the patients situation (Liamputtong, 2010).Evidence Based Practice generates the need for clinically vital information regarding clinical and health care issues (Liamputtong, 2010). This clinically vital information is gathered by altering evidence into answerable questions, once this information is gathered the appraised information will be put into clinical practice and evaluated based on performance (Liamputtong, 2010). The importance of the five steps of Evidence Based Practice is consistent and conclusive. Before EBP, clinical knowledge was primarily relied on in areas...
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...be temporarily inserted into the hand or forearm veins in administering intravenous medications or fluids, although other body sites can be used. It is vital to use intravenous drugs in the management of the patients who are hospitalized. The infections linked to the intravenous therapy may affect the blood stream or the skin around the insertion site of the catheter (Bofah et al, 2012). For this reason, Bofah et al (2012) suggested that general infection control and universal precautions measures need to be taken into considerations when undertaking a clinical procedure. However, specific measures need to be taken into consideration when administering intravenous therapy especially those in the home setting and the vulnerable patients. Kampf et al (2013) conducted an observational intervention study on “Improving Patient Safety during the Insertion of Peripheral Venous Catheters. The aim of the study was to determine the application of specific steps for peripheral venous catheters insertion in clinical practice and implementation of a multimodal intervention with an aim of improving both optimum order and compliance with the steps. Results indicated that 202 insertions were observed during the intervention period and 207 in the control period (Kampf et al, 2013). Compliance significantly improved for 4...
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...be temporarily inserted into the hand or forearm veins in administering intravenous medications or fluids, although other body sites can be used. It is vital to use intravenous drugs in the management of the patients who are hospitalized. The infections linked to the intravenous therapy may affect the blood stream or the skin around the insertion site of the catheter (Bofah et al, 2012). For this reason, Bofah et al (2012) suggested that general infection control and universal precautions measures need to be taken into considerations when undertaking a clinical procedure. However, specific measures need to be taken into consideration when administering intravenous therapy especially those in the home setting and the vulnerable patients. Kampf et al (2013) conducted an observational intervention study on “Improving Patient Safety during the Insertion of Peripheral Venous Catheters. The aim of the study was to determine the application of specific steps for peripheral venous catheters insertion in clinical practice and implementation of a multimodal intervention with an aim of improving both optimum order and compliance with the steps. Results indicated that 202 insertions were observed during the intervention period and 207 in the control period (Kampf et al, 2013). Compliance significantly improved for 4 to 5...
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...Assessment task 2- Scenario 2 Urinary tract infection is one of the most common infections diagnosed among women in the world. There has been increasing concern for alternative method to treat urinary tract infection over antibiotics since misuse of antibiotics can led to bacterial resistance(Scholes et al., 2004). This essay will establish PICO (population, intervention, comparison and outcome) question in the given scenario where a 22 year old Susan visits the GP with symptoms of urinary frequency, dysuria, lower back pain and shivering. She was diagnosed with Urinary tract infection (hereby referred as UTI) and antibiotics were prescribed. However after developing thrush due to antibiotics for urinary tract infection previously, she is reluctant to take antibiotics. On surfing the internet she read about cranberry juice being used to treat UTI and is considering to stop her antibiotics. PICO question development In order to provide the right pathway to commence our research and ensuring that every questions are suitable and relevant, PICO model will be used which is Population, Intervention, Comparison and Outcome(Bronson and Davis, 2011). In the given scenario, population would be women suffering from UTI. Similarly intervention is using cranberry juice to prevent UTI and comparison is to use antibiotics. Richardson et al., 2014 mentioned that the outcome would analyze the effectiveness of the intervention. Therefore the outcome would be effectiveness of cranberry...
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...health, so why should so many people care about it. I think that the main reason is that herpes affects the persons personality. To many, there is nothing more important then that persons genitals. One's genitals gives one the ability to love and to be loved. Another reason is that this virus, unlike many in today's society, is incurable. With todays fast food restaurants, great health insurance, and one hour prescriptions, people have a hard time dealing with herpes being incurable. The incurability and recurrent nature of herpes makes it a control issue and no one likes to lose control. There is an unbuilding factor in this issue. There is always new research going on for this disease. This topic interests me on an great level. I myself get cold sores and I love to learn of new things that happens to others and cures they are working on. This study can help others for a cure, because I think a cure is greatly needed. In this essay I will examine several case studies and their results. I will also include a "Most Common...
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...Describe the roles and responsibilities of personnel in relation to infection prevention and control in a health or social care setting In every Health and social care setting, each person has a certain responsibility. Each care worker should be responsible for their own actions with regard to protecting themselves and others from infection. Throughout this essay I will be discussing the roles and responsibilities of care and non-care workers, managers and specialist personnel. In every work place there should be policies set in place. These policies come from the law and make reference to the standard that is legally required in a health and social care setting. These include Fire Escape plans, Health and Safety policies and Infection Control policies. It is the managers responsibility to provide relevant policies to the workplace such as the ones listed above, update these policies regularly, and make these policies accessible to staff. The procedures set in place are a step by step guide which shows the staff exactly what should be done. For example disposal of sharps and a fire procedure which is pictured below. It is all of the staff’s responsibility to know where the policies are, understand them and be able to follow the procedures. It is also necessary for all staff to follow basic hygiene rules such as washing hands appropriately and regularly using the 6 step hand washing technique which is pictured below. It is also the Care staff, for example nurses’...
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...Discuss the concept of occupational health and control measures implemented to prevent such infection ? To prevent and to control the spread of infection is primary in the health care settings. It begins by believing that everybody is very much infectious therefore, its everybody's responsibility to prevent and control the spread of infection. Healthcare workers have a guidelines on how to prevent and control the spread of infection when providing care for all hospitalised individuals in healthcare. Workplaces are obliged under the Occupational health and safety Act (2004) to provide a safe work place by training the staff the infection control procedures, instructing them to use the right equipment or techniques to prevent infections from spreading over. Every health worker plays a big role to minimise the transmission of infection by following the workplace infection control procedures. Standard precaution, additional precaution, sharp safety, exposure policy, staff vaccination, single use policy and waste management policy are a principle that break the chain of infection. This essay outlines the concept of occupational health and the control measure implemented to prevent such infection. Berman et all. (2012) states that Standard precaution is work practice required technique to be used by healthcare workers to minimise the spread of micro-organism. Standard precaution includes good hand hygiene, the use of personal protective equipment(PPE), appropriate handling...
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...Chickenpox Pamela Nauerth Grand Canyon University April 20, 2014 Chickenpox Varicella infection, commonly known as Chickenpox, is a member of the herpes virus group. Varicella has the capacity to stay latent in the human source. It stays in the sensory nerve ganglia and the recurrent infection is called Herpes Zoster or Shingles. This essay gives the description, causes, symptoms, mode of transmission and the treatment of varicella. It describes the mortality, morbidity, incidence and prevalence of the disease. It explains the determinants of health and how they contribute to the development of varicella. This essay discusses the epidemiologic triangle and how it relates to chickenpox. It explains the role of the community health nurse regarding their case findings, reporting, data collecting, data analysis and the follow-up related to chickenpox. It identifies on great national agency that addresses the virus and describes contributes to resolving and reducing the impact of the disease. Varicella was confused with smallpox until the late eighteenth century. Rudolf Steiner was scientist who discovered that varicella virus was caused by an infectious agent in 1875. Steiner removed fluid from the blisters of chickenpox and put it on the skin of volunteers that were healthy. It resulted in the volunteers to contract the virus (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2012). The symptoms of the virus develop about 15 days after being exposed to an...
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...Nosocomial Infections By princessbec76 | Studymode.com Section 1: Infections in Healthcare Settings Essay. Nosocomial infections, hospital acquired infections, are an on-going concern to healthcare professionals. These infections are one of the major causes of death in hospitalised patients and are a significant burden on not only the patient’s and the public’s health (as organisms causing nosocomial infections can be transmitted to the community through discharged patients, staff and visitors) but also the economy. A nosocomial infection is an infection acquired at least 72 hours after being admitted into hospital for any reason other than the infection or one which develops amongst hospital staff. Infections are also identified as nosocomial if they appear in a patient within 30 days after their discharge from hospital. Non nosocomial infections, community acquired infections, are infections acquired anywhere other than the hospital. The most common places where non nosocomial infections occur are schools, day care centres and sports facilities. They are spread through skin to skin contact, cuts and grazes, overcrowding and poor hygiene. The illnesses or infections can be the same, for example, pneumonia or gastroenteritis but it is the setting that they are contracted in which differentiate the two infections. Nosocomial infections occur worldwide and affect both wealthy, developed countries as well as the poorer ones with scarce resources. A survey conducted by the World...
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...INDENTIFY ONE EPISODE OF CARE WHICH INVOLVES MEETING A PATIENTS INFECTION CONTROL NEEDS. This essay will discuss an episode of care given by myself under the supervision of a registered nurse. I will be discussing a clinical procedure that I have become competent in practising, however I will be focusing on the infection control needs around the procedure as well as the professional and ethical practice of infection control. The patient I shall be referring to shall be known as Patient A, this is to meet the nursing and midwifery code of conduct to protect the patient’s identity and to maintain confidentiality (NMC 2008). (LO 1.8) Patient A is an elderly gentleman living within a residential home, doctors are unable to resolve his underlying medical conditions of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (CoPD), Heart Failure and Malignancy, which together resulted in him suffering from recurrent Pleural effusion. A Pleural Effusion is an accumulation of fluid in the chest cavity (Rocket 2012) this area normally contains a small amount of Pleural fluid and aids for optimal function of the lungs during respiration (rocket, 2012). However, Patients A’s conditions interfere with the body’s natural ability to reabsorb the fluid, which results in a larger amount of fluid building up, which in turn made the patient have serve breathing difficulties. Doctors decided rather than submitting Patient A for repeated procedures they inserted an Indwelling Pleural Catheter (IPC) into...
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...Communicable Disease Essay Shawna Bolin HCS/457 June 22, 2015 University of Phoenix Communicable Disease Essay Every day we walk around amongst thousands of people, many of whom we will never meet personally but in the same sense can share something unseen. Every time we leave our homes we put ourselves at risk for catching the unknown. It could be as little as catching a cold to catching something more severe such as HIV/AIDS. Every time there is a fluid exchange, contaminated substance or close contact from traveling there is a risk of catching a communicable disease. According to the CDC, more than 1.2 million people in the United States are living with HIV infection and almost 1 in 7 are unaware of their infection (CDC, 2015). What is it? Hearing the term HIV/AIDS can sound a little confusing and scary. Understanding what it is will not only help you understand the difference between HIV and AIDS but it will also help you learn how to prevent it. Although it can be easy to confuse the two it is actually pretty simple. HIV is a virus and particular exposure to it can lead to infection and AIDS is a condition or a syndrome that can be caused by having HIV (healthline, 2015). Understanding how to control and prevent HIV/AIDS is pretty easy. HIV can be spread through blood, semen, pre-seminal fluids, rectal fluids, vaginal fluids and using a contaminated needle. HIV can even be passed to a child during pregnancy, childbirth and even breast...
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...This essay is about superbugs that can be found in a hospital setting. Because one out of every twenty patients admitted to a hospital will contract an infection according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it’s important to understand the science behind them. These superbugs are methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Clostridium difficile (C. diff), Vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE), Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) and Carbapenem-resistant and necrotizing fasciitis. These infections can be costly, difficult to treat, even life threatening. The best way to prevent the spread of infection is a simple task that will only take everyone 60 seconds or less to do. Superbugs-Hospital Acquired Infections A superbug is a...
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...ESSAY 3 HEALTH IN THE TROPICS STATE OF THE TROPICS causes of mortality. Improvements in quality of life through improved health are harder to quantify accurately at scale. Life Expectancy Life expectancy is covered in detail elsewhere in the State of the Tropics, and reports that between 1950 and 2010 the gap between life expectancy in the Tropics and the Rest of the World has narrowed. Over this period life expectancy in the Tropics increased by 22.8 years to 64.4 years and infant mortality reduced by 36%. The rate of change of mortality and morbidity has increased over the last two decades influenced by a range of different factors. Underlying life expectancy data are aggregated data, collected by the WHO to document the changing patterns of mortality. Table E3.1 provides the top ten causes of mortality in rank order over the last decade. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) accounted for two-thirds of global deaths in 2011 and infectious diseases for one-third. In 2000 the relative proportions were 60% NCDs and 40% infectious diseases. This rapid shift reflects the massive scale up in recent efforts to prevent and treat a number of major infectious diseases. Although improvements in maternal and child mortality have been made these still remain unacceptably high. In 2011, 6.9 million children under the age of five died, 99% of these in low and middle income countries. Malaria, despite the enormous scale up in control activities still ...
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...ESSAY TOPIC: Plague, is it still a threat? History Aetiologgy and treatment Plague in the modern world Abstract The plague is a communicable disease, having a high mortality rate without treatment. There are three huge pandemics in history with millions of deaths occurring. The first pandemic occurred around the year 541AD and was called “plague of Justinian”, the second pandemic “Black Death” occurred in 14th century, and the third epidemic resulted in China around the 1860s. There are three main types of plague such as bubonic plague, septicaemic plague and primary pneumonic plague, with each type of the plague; the antibiotics are the most important method of treatment for plague currently. The Yersinia pestis, as the causative agent of plague, is a Gram-negative bacillus in the bacterial family. This disease is transmitted by the biting of fleas, which occur in some animals such as the rats, rabbits and dogs. Early detection, reporting, isolating and early treatment are very important in preventing huge scales of the plague’s happening. People should take more precautions to prevent plague from infection. Today, this infectious disease is still a threat for people around the world, especially in Africa, Asia and South American countries. “Plague or its cause, Y. pestis, has been used by humans as a weapon (bioterrorist weapon) against other humans for centuries, including this current time”(Nettleman, 2012). The plague is an infectious bacterial disease, caused...
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