In 2020 the world is expected to spend 30 billion dollars on infection control. However, nurse educators and hospital directors are noticing that students are entering the workforce without a great understanding of infection control and personal protection. With infectious diseases continuing to spread throughout hospitals and even worldwide, it’s becoming increasingly important to educate students on how they should be protecting themselves. 

Are you caught up on some of the recent findings regarding infection control? Here are five reasons you should take a fresh look on infection control:

Antibiotic Resistance: The World Health Organization has recently declared that antibiotic resistance is a global health threat. Infections are increasingly caused by bacteria that are resistant to conventional antibiotics and the strongest antibiotics are becoming less effective. The constant battle with antibiotic resistant bacteria is forcing hospitals to take even more precautions when diagnosing and treating patients.

Limitations of isolation apparel: Isolation precautions, personal protective equipment and hand washing are the most effective methods of preventing the spread of infections. However, research studies have shown that healthcare workers and visitors have low rates of compliance due to a lack of education on isolation precautions, facilitating the spread of antibiotic-resistant infections. With that being said, it’s increasingly important to develop good habits early!

Contamination of isolation apparel: Contamination is common when donning and doffing isolation apparel, especially when rushing or when multiple protective items are used. Taking an additional 10 seconds to carefully remove isolation apparel can significantly improve protection against the spread of infection. Actions that increase risk of contamination include:

-Failing to tie the gown at the waist and neck – this causes the gown to brush against equipment in the patient’s room with transfer of more microorganisms onto the gown

-Pulling at the gown ties to break them rather than taking the time to untie them – this causes microorganisms to be sent into the air and inhaled

-Pushing used isolation apparel into the trash can and touching the outside of the trash can with bare hands

Effects of isolation on patients: Even though isolation is required for patients with resistant or contagious infections, patients report decreased satisfaction with their care due to having less contact with their providers. These concerns must be balanced with the need to protect other patients from spreading infections.   

Red box contact precautions: An alternative approach to contact isolation is the use of red box precautions. Red duct tape is used to mark off an area three feet beyond the patient’s door that is at least six feet from the patient’s bed. Healthcare providers can stand in this area to communicate with patients in contact isolation without having to don isolation apparel. This allows providers and patients to have full view of each other to facilitate communication, especially for sharing test results and deciding on treatment plans. Although this approach is favorable with some providers it’s important for all staff to understand that certain precautions still need to be put in place.

At DiaMedical, we have created a product that has saved healthcare educators time and money when teaching infection control. Our Loaded Isolation Cart™ will arrive at your facility fully loaded with all of the supplies necessary to teach personal protection and run infectious disease simulations. It’s our mission to improve the quality of healthcare by providing innovative tools like the Loaded Isolation Cart™ to help educate the next generation of medical professionals!

We also make reordering simple, instead of having to take inventory of what supplies you have left after a simulation you can simply reorder our Loaded Isolation Cart Refill Kit™! Our Refill Kits are a cost-effective way to guarantee you always have the supplies needed to run your simulations!

Instructors have found that by integrating simulation into their curricula students feel more confident and knowledgeable before entering a clinical environment. It’s of the utmost importance to provide students with all of the tools necessary to understand infection control. Utilizing the Loaded Isolation Cart™ throughout a variety of Simulation allows students to understand how they can prevent the spread of infectious diseases throughout a hospital!

References

1. Balci, F. (2016). Isolation gown in health care settings: Laboratory studies, regulations and standards, and potential barriers of gown selection and use. American Journal of Infection Control, 44(2016), 104-111.
2. Banach, D., Bearman, G., Morgan, D., & Munoz-Price, L. (2015). Infection control precautions for visitors to healthcare facilities. Expert Reviews in Anti-Infective Therapies, 13(9), 1047-1050.
3. Barker, A., Codella, J., Ewers, T., Dundon, A., Alagoz, O., & Safdar, N. (2017). Changes to physician and nurse time burdens when caring for patients under contact precautions. American Journal of Infection Control, 45(2017), 542-543. 
4. Beam, E. (2015). Clinical challenges in isolation care. American Journal of Nursing, 115(4), 44-49.
5. Cohen, C., Cohen, B., & Shang, J. (2015). Effectiveness of contact precautions against multidrug-resistant organism transmission in acute care: A systematic review of the literature. Journal of Hospital Infection, 90(2015), 275-284. 
6. Courvalin, P. (2016). Why is antibiotic resistance a deadly emerging disease? Clinical Microbiology and Infection, 22, 405-407.
7. Day, H., Perencevich, E., Harris, A., Gruber-Baldini, A., Himelhoch, S., Brown, C., & Morgan, D. (2013). Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, 34(3), 251-258. 
8. Frieri, M., Kumar, K., & Boutin, A. (2017). Antibiotic resistance. Journal of Infection and Public Health, 10, 369-378.
9. Gandra, S., Barysauskas, C., Mack, D., Barton, B., Finberg, R., & Ellison, R. (2014). Impact of contact precautions on falls, pressure ulcers and transmission of MRSA and VRE in hospitalized patients. Journal of Hospital Infection, 88(2014), 170-176.
10. Kang, J., O’Donnell, J., Colaianne, B., Bircher, N., Ren, D., & Smith, K. (2017). Use of personal protective equipment among healthcare personnel: Results of clinical observations and simulations. American Journal of Infection Control, 45(2017), 17-23.
11. Malhotra, P., Khameraj, A., Salim, T., Armellino, D., Wirostek, S., Epstein, M., & Farber, B. (2019). Reengineering the patient’s environment: Establishment of a “Red Box” to improve communication with patients on isolation precautions. American Journal of Infection Control, 47(2019), 264-267.