Prudent standard preventive measures to be taken by professional and other health personnel in contact with persons afflicted with a communicable disease, to avoid contracting the disease by contagion or infection. Precautions are especially applicable in the diagnosis and care of AIDS patients.
Penetrating stab wounds caused by needles. They are of special concern to health care workers since such injuries put them at risk for developing infectious disease.
Infectious organisms in the BLOOD, of which the predominant medical interest is their contamination of blood-soiled linens, towels, gowns, BANDAGES, other items from individuals in risk categories, NEEDLES and other sharp objects, MEDICAL WASTE and DENTAL WASTE, all of which health workers are exposed to. This concept is differentiated from the clinical conditions of BACTEREMIA; VIREMIA; and FUNGEMIA where the organism is present in the blood of a patient as the result of a natural infectious process.
Coverings for the hands, usually with separations for the fingers, made of various materials, for protection against infections, toxic substances, extremes of hot and cold, radiations, water immersion, etc. The gloves may be worn by patients, care givers, housewives, laboratory and industrial workers, police, etc.
The transmission of infectious disease or pathogens from patients to health professionals or health care workers. It includes transmission via direct or indirect exposure to bacterial, fungal, parasitic, or viral agents.
'Hospital Bed Capacity, 300 to 499' is a term used to describe healthcare facilities that have a bed capacity ranging between three hundred to four hundred and ninety-nine beds, which enables them to accommodate and manage a substantial number of patients while providing essential medical services.'
The individuals employed by the hospital.
Clothing designed to protect the individual against possible exposure to known hazards.
Hospital department responsible for the administration and management of services provided for obstetric and gynecologic patients.
Men and women working in the provision of health services, whether as individual practitioners or employees of health institutions and programs, whether or not professionally trained, and whether or not subject to public regulation. (From A Discursive Dictionary of Health Care, 1976)
An island in the Greater Antilles in the West Indies. Its capital is Kingston. It was discovered in 1494 by Columbus and was a Spanish colony 1509-1655 until captured by the English. Its flourishing slave trade was abolished in the 19th century. It was a British colony 1655-1958 and a territory of the West Indies Federation 1958-62. It achieved full independence in 1962. The name is from the Arawak Xaymaca, rich in springs or land of springs. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p564 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p267)
Health care workers specially trained and licensed to assist and support the work of health professionals. Often used synonymously with paramedical personnel, the term generally refers to all health care workers who perform tasks which must otherwise be performed by a physician or other health professional.
Conformity in fulfilling or following official, recognized, or institutional requirements, guidelines, recommendations, protocols, pathways, or other standards.
Knowledge, attitudes, and associated behaviors which pertain to health-related topics such as PATHOLOGIC PROCESSES or diseases, their prevention, and treatment. This term refers to non-health workers and health workers (HEALTH PERSONNEL).
Any infection which a patient contracts in a health-care institution.
Hospitals located in metropolitan areas.
The segregation of patients with communicable or other diseases for a specified time. Isolation may be strict, in which movement and social contacts are limited; modified, where an effort to control specified aspects of care is made in order to prevent cross infection; or reverse, where the patient is secluded in a controlled or germ-free environment in order to protect him or her from cross infection.
Programs of disease surveillance, generally within health care facilities, designed to investigate, prevent, and control the spread of infections and their causative microorganisms.
Hospitals engaged in educational and research programs, as well as providing medical care to the patients.
The exposure to potentially harmful chemical, physical, or biological agents that occurs as a result of one's occupation.
Attitudes of personnel toward their patients, other professionals, toward the medical care system, etc.
Includes the spectrum of human immunodeficiency virus infections that range from asymptomatic seropositivity, thru AIDS-related complex (ARC), to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).
Sterile clothing worn during surgical procedures to protect the surgical site from sources of contamination.
Predetermined sets of questions used to collect data - clinical data, social status, occupational group, etc. The term is often applied to a self-completed survey instrument.