Dinah J Gould

..Changes in the way health care is delivered, especially the movement of patients and staff between different hospitals and wards, may also contribute to the difficulty of controlling infection...

..Implications for the nurse's role, plus individual and public health are addressed...

..However, hand hygiene technique is seldom incorporated into research studies and audits designed to increase compliance. As a result, numerous unanswered questions remain concerning this aspect of hand hygiene...

..In adults it can also be contracted during sexual activity and might indicate a need for diagnostic testing for other, more serious sexually transmitted infections in young, sexually active adults...

..This article identifies the key features of audit and research, and discusses the defining features of both activities and their relationship...

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..Nurses in a range of clinical settings are involved in the care of patients who either develop or are at risk of developing SSI and therefore need to know how to advise and manage these patients...

..This article outlines the protective function of intact skin and describes its resident and transient microbial flora. The role and limitations of antiseptics in reducing the risk of infection are discussed...

..Key strategies for prevention and control focus on contact precautions, the management of invasive devices and maintaining a clean, dry environment to prevent the build-up of environmental reservoirs and cross-infection...

..Noroviruses are spread by the faecal-oral route and are highly infectious. Sound hygiene in kitchens, bathrooms and thorough hand washing and careful environmental cleaning with bleach are important to prevent spread...

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..The use of single room accommodation for patients with infections is debated...

..This article explores the epidemiology of norovirus and discusses strategies for prevention and control in hospitals. The need for new, updated evidence-based guidelines is highlighted...

..The aim of this study was to describe how matrons in an acute National Health Service trust perceive and undertake their role since its reconfiguration in 2005 and to investigate their needs for continuing professional development...

..Increasingly, students are required to undertake a literature review. Readers are taken through the processes leading to successful project completion from initial framing of a workable research question to compiling the final document...

..The emergence of new, more serious ARIs may renew interest in hygiene, particularly hand hygiene, as an important preventive measure...

..This article describes the range of different infections caused by Ecoli in healthcare settings and the community and discusses the characteristics of the different strains of the bacteria that explain variations in their pathogenicity...

..Healthcare professionals need to understand the principles that underpin effective hand hygiene audit to improve their own practice and help patients, carers and the public to interpret the findings...

..Understanding the epidemiology and life cycle of the mite Sarcoptes scabiei which causes scabies, is the key to effective prevention and control...

..Guidelines emphasise the importance of surveillance, decolonisation strategies, standard infection prevention and control precautions, and antibiotic stewardship to reduce the risk of transmission...

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..The aim of this article is to provide an understanding of outbreaks of infection and the implications for nurses, drawing on the lessons learnt from a wide range of outbreaks past and present...

..Systemic fungal infections are a major problem among critically ill patients in acute care settings and are responsible for an increasing proportion of healthcare-associated infections...

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..This study may help to explain why return-to-practice programmes are not having the impact the government intended...

..Pressure of work and staff shortages still mitigate against safe practice today despite greater awareness of the importance of infection control...

..However, they clearly indicate possible weaknesses in the commissioning process which should be explored in greater depth, in relation to continuing professional education for specialist and non-specialist areas of practice...

..This article describes bacterial structure and function to explain how antibiotics work and the processes of decontamination such as cleaning, disinfection and sterilisation, which are important in infection control...

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..This article describes a framework developed specifically to evaluate the effectiveness of TNA. The framework combines approaches that have been used to evaluate conventional research studies and audit...

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..The Knowledge and Skills Framework is of interest to nurses and nurse educators internationally because the system, if effective, could be introduced elsewhere...

..The aim of this study is to provide a detailed account of the locally targeted strategies to improve staffing levels by senior nurses responsible for recruitment and retention in acute trusts in the National Health Service in England...

..This article describes enterococci bacteria and the measures related to glycopeptide-resistant enterococci, including screening, treatment and management, antibiotic prescribing and infection control...

..Contextual factors at national and at local level should be carefully documented to take into consideration the influence of secular trends...

..This article discusses the debate surrounding perineal repair and provides information on the indications for episiotomy and the classification of tears...

..Ability to read current literature critically, to be aware of changing policy and its impact on the risk of infection forms an important part of the community nursing role...

..Recent research highlighting the extent of the problem and strategies for tackling it is reviewed...

..Ideally an additional data collection method should be used to corroborate or refute the findings of observation, but no well-validated method is presently available...

..It includes a description of the normal menstrual cycle and the clotting cascade. The research findings suggest that inherited bleeding disorders account for many cases of menorrhagia...

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