We assessed the effect of medical staff role models and the number of health-care worker sinks on hand-hygiene compliance before and after construction of a new hospital designed for increased access to handwashing sinks. We observed health-care worker hand hygiene in four nursing units that provided similar patient care in both the old and new hospitals: medical and surgical intensive care, he...

If you enter a room full of NGO staff, and ask them, 'hands up, who thinks organisational learning is important?' you are likely to be greeted by a sea of raised hands. But, if you ask for practical examples of organisational learning, the response would be significantly different you are likely to be met by a sea of blank faces and a sense of jadedness: 'Does it make any difference anyway; is ...

Background Programmable ventricular shunt valves are commonly used to treat hydrocephalus. They can be adjusted to allow for varying amounts of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow using an external magnetic programming device, and are susceptible to maladjustment from inadvertent exposure to magnetic fields. Case Description We describe the case of a 3-month-old girl treated for hydrocephalus with...

From 25 August to 28 September 1994, 7 cardiovascular surgery (CVS) patients at a California hospital acquired postoperative Serratia marcescens infections, and 1 died. To identify the outbreak source, a cohort study was done of all 55 adults who underwent CVS at the hospital during the outbreak. Specimens from the hospital environment and from hands of selected staff were cultured. S. marcesce...

Risk of infection from bloodborne pathogens makes it imperative for surgical team members to detect surgical glove punctures before skin contact with pathogens occurs. The use of a second, colored pair of gloves worn by scrubbed team members during surgical procedures provides an early indicator of an outer glove puncture while the primary glove or underglove remains intact. This practice reduc...

BACKGROUND Healthcare-associated infection rates are high in low-income countries and are associated with significant morbidity. There is a paucity of published data on infection control practice, attitudes or resources in these settings, particularly in ophthalmology. The aim of this study is to understand current hand washing practices, barriers to hand washing and facilities available in two...

BACKGROUND Global burden of hospital-associated infection (HAI) is on the rise and contributes significantly to morbidity and mortality of the patients. Mobile phones are indispensible part of communication among doctors and other health care workers (HCWs) in hospitals. Hands of HCWs play an important role in transmission of HAI and mobile phones which are seldom cleaned and often touched duri...

In this paper, we present the process of rebalancing the line at motorcycle-assembly plant. The company found it necessary to rebalance its line, since it needs to increase production in the spring and summer months. The main characteristics of the problem are as follows: (i) the company hires temporary staff, who need more time to carry out their tasks than permanent workers; (ii) there must a...

BACKGROUND Alcohol-based antiseptic scrub formulation has long been used for hand cleansing in the operating room. Recently, a waterless surgical scrub formulation containing 1% chlorhexidine gluconate was developed to provide a comparable antiseptic effect. The present study explored the scrub time required when using waterless hand scrub and traditional hand scrub formulations for operating r...