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Biomedical subjects

M M Jackson

Publications and source records attributed to M M Jackson.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

Infection prevention and control for HIV and other infectious agents in obstetric, gynecologic and neonatal settings.

Personnel working in obstetric and gynecologic settings have long recognized their increased risks for infection with the hepatitis B virus and many have been immunized with hepatitis B vaccine. Staphylococcus aureus cross-transmission among neonates in newborn nurseries in the 1950s was a major impetus for the development of hospital infection control programs. In recent years, however, it is concerns about infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that have caused health care workers and hospitals to rethink traditional infection risk reduction strategies and change them. This article describes infection risks peculiar to obstetric, gynecologic, and neonatal settings and presents practical approaches for reducing these risks, both for patients and for health care workers.

Environmental Exposure↗
PubMed1989

Infection prevention and control in the era of the AIDS/HIV epidemic.

The chronology of important events in the AIDS/HIV epidemic is presented in Table 2. Nurses are the largest group of health care workers and persons who provide direct care and handle sharp objects regularly. As the number of persons infected with HIV increases and as more infected persons become ill enough to require care, the opportunity for an individual nurse to have contact with an infected person will increase. Because many persons with HIV infection also have Kaposi's sarcoma and other malignancies, some oncology nurses may have more contact with HIV-infected individuals than nurses in general. However, it is well established that the major risk for HIV infection is from puncture injuries, and a number of strategies are available and are being developed to make needle and sharps handling safer. Nurses must take personal responsibility for knowing how to reduce their own risks for exposure to HIV and other infectious agents while keeping in mind the need not to increase risks of nosocomial infections in patients. Thus, all nurses need a comprehensive understanding of the purposes of barriers (eg, gloves, gowns, masks, handwashing, room assignment) and when and how to use them correctly. In addition, all nurses who have contact with blood and body fluids should take responsibility for their own immunity to hepatitis B by obtaining hepatitis B vaccination. By using all of these strategies in combination, many infection risks to nurses and patients will be minimized.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1989

Considerations and controversies of AIDS.

The statistical probability of seroconversion is proportional to the number of needlesticks incurred and the likelihood that the needlesticks will be with HIV infected blood. Careful adherence to recommended operating room practices, combined with meticulous attention to handling needles and sharps, should result in few, if any, cases of occupational HIV seroconversion among OR personnel. HIV testing is not feasible in the management of emergency patients; these are often the individuals at highest risk for HIV infection and over whom the surgical team has the least control. Non-operative treatment of HIV-infected patients is not an option; many procedures are performed either to enable the individual to lead a more comfortable, productive life or for diagnostic purposes.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1989

Reducing the risk of AIDS: changing behaviors and techniques.

Although hepatitis B virus and HIV are similar, they are not transmitted with equal ease; the blood of persons with HIV has fewer infectious particles, which reduces the likelihood of transmitting the virus from average exposures. At present, the number of health-care workers who have developed AIDS as a result of occupational exposure is so small that it is statistically undetectable in a large mass of cases. The guiding principle in developing new surgical techniques must be the assumption that the blood of any patient, regardless of diagnosis, may contain infectious agents. Stress should be placed on altering behavior and techniques to reduce infectious risks to health-care workers from contact with blood rather than on identifying patients with HIV.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1987

Rethinking the role of isolation practices in the prevention of nosocomial infections.

To prevent nosocomial infections, hospitals use two types of procedures: routine patient care practices (handwashing, for example), which are used in appropriate circumstances on all patients, and more intensive isolation precautions, which are implemented only when patients are suspected of having particular infections. Aspects of these current practices, however, may limit their effectiveness. We propose the use of body substance isolation, a simpler alternative system that is used for all patients, not just in response to a specific diagnosis, and that emphasizes the increased use of barrier precautions, especially gloving, when contact with potentially infectious bodily secretions is anticipated. Because of its rationale and simplicity, body substance isolation has been enthusiastically accepted at our hospitals, and we encourage others to consider and evaluate this approach.

Bedding and Linens↗
PubMed1986

Education of the adult learner: a practical approach for the infection control practitioner.

Infection control practitioners (ICPs) are expected to be educators in their role, yet few have had formal training in preparing, presenting, and evaluating education programs for personnel from different disciplines. This article presents guidance from several sources specific to "andragogy"--the art and science of helping adults learn--to assist the ICP in the role of educator.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Perceptions and beliefs of nursing and medical personnel about needle-handling practices and needlestick injuries.

A survey of 1473 nursing and medical personnel employed in two hospitals in a large metropolitan area was conducted to determine perceptions and beliefs about needle-handling practices and needlestick injuries. Additional questions in the survey focused on responsibility for discarding needles and syringes and the correct practice for disposal of needles and syringes in various situations presented. Analyses were based on 488 responses (33%). Nurses at the 437-bed University Hospital handled more needles and experienced more needlestick injuries than did nurses at the 300-bed Community Hospital. Needle-handling and needlestick injuries among medical personnel at the two hospitals were similar, although University Hospital interns and residents and University Hospital fourth-year medical students handled more needles than did the medical staff at either hospital. A total of 164 (33.6%) respondents reported receiving one or more needlestick injuries during 1983. A large proportion of respondents in each group reported that they did nothing about the needlestick injuries they experienced. Carelessness was perceived by all groups to be the most common reason for needlestick injuries. Most respondents reported some knowledge of proper needle disposal techniques and perceived lack of knowledge as the least important reason for needlestick injuries.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1986

Certification: philosophy, goals, and methods, with application to the discipline of infection control practice.

The philosophy, goals, and methods of certification are complex and need to be understood in general before they can be applied to a specific practice discipline. This article is intended to provide background information about certification, summarize the history of credentialing for health occupations, and briefly describe methods for test design and construction. Philosophy, goals, methods, and preparation for certification are then applied to the discipline of infection control practice, with specific reference to the Infection Control Certification Examination, offered for the first time in November 1983 and in each subsequent year.

Certification↗
PubMed1985

Isolation practices: a historical perspective.

Isolation practices assume a major role in the activities of many hospital infection prevention and control programs, yet few of the practices have been studied for efficacy. The origins for some of these practices can be traced to the nursing literature published in the American Journal of Nursing in the early part of the century. Others originated with public health measures for quarantine of communicable diseases in the community or attempts to simulate operating room practices for compromised patients. This historical review presents information about isolation practices from the perspective of the American Journal of Nursing with additional information from some Centers for Disease Control and American Hospital Association publications. The American Journal of Nursing was selected because it is a major source for content of nursing textbooks from which most nurses first learn isolation practices. Nurses are also the persons primarily responsible for the implementation of isolation practices in hospitals. Two themes emerged from this historical review: (1) a continuing debate about the importance of the inanimate environment and the importance of the airborne route versus the importance of contact with moist body substances as major modes of transmission of infectious agents and (2) a continuing debate between those who believe in special isolation techniques only for persons with diagnosed infections and those who believe all persons may harbor potentially infectious agents and who therefore focus attention on assessment of care requirements where contact with body substances is anticipated. This review is intended to encourage critical evaluation of isolation practices in use in hospitals today.

Cross Infection↗