In healthcare centers (P), does washing hands and having PPEs (I) reduce the risk of hospital-acquired covid-19 among patients and healthcare workers (C) compared to no application of these measures (O)?
The outbreak of covid-19 has shaken healthcare systems globally as the disease threatens every segment of the population. Unfortunately, the disease has traversed all over the world due to its ability to move from one person to the other quickly and its lack of cure. Nurses are at the forefront in the fight against covid-19 as they interact with the patients firsthand and are there to bury those that succumb to the disease. The WHO has directed the washing of hands and wearing PPEs as the most effective intervention to curbing the spread of the disease.
Covid-19 has been described as the flu that attacks the respiratory system. It shows symptoms, including headaches, high fever, among many others. The disease advances at a high rate and is fatal, especially among patients with underlying conditions such as diabetes, among others (Adhikari et al., 2020). it is spread through contact with persons or areas that have been infected. Touching the face increases the chances of contamination, especially for nurses who handle such patients.
Washing hands with soap or sanitizing with alcohol-based products and wearing the correct protective gear puts nurses in a position to handle the disease without the risk of contamination. Nurses across the globe have adopted the practice of observing these guidelines. The same has translated to limited transmission rates among these health workers (World Health Organization, 2020). In regions where the numbers of healthcare workers have reported increased numbers of infections, the same has been associated with reduced observations of the set guidelines regarding handwashing and wearing PPEs.