• Journal of the Health Care and Life Science
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.165-172
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• 2023

This study involved 220 dental hygiene students who had experience in field clinical practice. It was carried out to grasp the awareness and practice of dental infection control and to use it as basic data for dental infection control practice. As a result of examining the awareness of dental infection control, the average score was 4.58 points, and the average infection control practice was 4.50 points. As a result of identifying differences between infection control awareness and practice, there were statistically significant differences in all domains. As a result of investigating the effect on infection prevention practices, the grade level, the experience of infection during practice, whether infection control guidelines are provided in the laboratory, awareness of handwashing areas, and wearing personal protective equipment were found to be significant predictors.

• The Journal of Korean Academic Society of Nursing Education
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.293-302
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• 2012

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate nursing students' awareness and performance on standard precautions and to provide meaningful information for nursing students' education regarding hospital infection control. Method: Four hundred forty seven nursing students at 6 universities in D-city participated in this study. Data collection was conducted from March to April 2011. Students' awareness and performance on standard precautions of infection control in hospitals were measured using the modified 2007 CDC standard precautions guidelines. Data analysis was performed using the SPSS WIN 18.0 program, descriptive statistics, t-test, and ANOVA. Results: The level of students' awareness in the standard precautions was higher than performance. The higher levels of students' awareness and performance on standard precautions included patient care equipment, safe injection practices, and worker safety. The lower levels of students' awareness and performance on standard precautions included hand hygiene and personal protective equipment. There was no difference in the students' awareness and performance of standard precautions according to their characteristics. Conclusions: Based on the findings of this study, hand hygiene and personal protective equipment need to be stressed more within the program to improve nursing students' infection control techniques.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.190-199
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• 2024

Background: Dental hygienists have a significant risk of infection due to occupational injuries caused by needles and sharp instruments. This study aimed to evaluate the current status of needle and "sharp-instrument injuries" among dental hygienists and to propose improved preventive guidelines. Methods: A total of 251 dental hygienists completed an online survey between August 1, 2023 and September 2, 2023. Data from 245 respondents were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 20, using independent t-tests and one-way analysis of variance to assess the frequency of injuries and their correlation with job characteristics. Results: Among the 251 dental hygienists, 77.6% had experienced needle or sharp-instrument injuries, with an average of 4.97 incidents per person. Infection prevention education significantly reduced the number of injuries, and participants with education exhibited better infection control practices than those without. Most injuries occurred during "instrument cleaning or maintenance" and "anesthesia preparation or disposal," with "scalers, probes, and curettes" being the main culprits. Hands were the most frequently injured body parts. Conclusion: Preventive measures, continuous education, and improved guidelines are required to create a safer dental working environment.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.18 no.7
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• pp.466-475
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to investigate the status of infection control in long term care hospitals. Data were gathered from 156 long term care hospitals that received certification evaluation from May 1, 2016 to July 31, 2016. We used a questionnaire consisting of 85 items regarding the status and perceived importance of infection control. The data were analyzed using the SPSS / WIN 21.0 program. All of the hospitals have infection control regulations, 80.4% of them have an infection control committee and 86.0% of them employ an ICP(infection control practitioner) who holds this position in addition to another. Hand hygiene showed the highest score at 4.47 in the perceived importance of infection control. Employee education and compliance with the validity period of sterilized products showed the highest frequency and perceived importance among the infection control activities. The above results show that almost all of the long term care hospitals have infection control regulations, but that these regulations are not properly implemented, because of the lack of applicable regulations on the policy level. Therefore, it is necessary to develop infection monitoring standards and infection control guidelines for long term care hospitals and provide the infection control practitioners with training in how to apply them.

• The Journal of the Korean dental association
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• v.58 no.10
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• pp.615-626
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• 2020

The outbreak of COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection, has spread worldwide and resulted in a pandemic for health systems. The disease is transmitted via respiration as droplets or aerosol. Due to the nature of dental treatment, aerosols, including body fluid, blood, and saliva, are frequently produced in dental hospitals. The present study investigated the potential risk of nosocomial infection of COVID-19 in dental hospitals to provide recommendations in clinical situations. The Seoul National University Dental Hospital in Korea established a countermeasure to cope with the clinical situation based on The Guidelines of Korean Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (KCDC) for dental practitioners and the available literature. Notably, numerous considerations for patient reservation and schedule management are required for space separation in the hospital, including infection control. Experiences in dental hospitals in Korea would be referable for other dental hospitals facing this infectious respiratory disease.

• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.61-69
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• 2021

Purpose: Senior long-term care facilities are vulnerable to a cluster infection because of frequent physical contact, large group dining, communal living, and room sharing. This study aims to provide architectural improvement plans for a quarantine system in the facilities. Methods: Actual quarantine action data, guidelines from governments and institutes, in-depth interviews with facility staff are analyzed. Results: To prevent a cluster infection in the senior facilities, it is necessary to provide an architectural plan focusing on increasing the number of single rooms and isolation rooms, providing isolation rooms for staff, separation of a soiled room from a clean room, planing an entry vestibule and a visitor's room. Implications: It is important to analyze the existing condition of facilities that had been going through cohort isolation and provide the architectural solution to strengthen infection control.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.15 no.11
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• pp.307-315
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• 2017

This study set out to investigate dental hygiene students' perceptions and performance of dental clinic infection management of clinical training, thus helping to minimize nosocomial infection and providing basic data for infection management and action guidelines in development of curriculums and educational programs. A survey was taken with dental hygiene students that had experiences with clinical training at a four-year university in Gyeongbuk. The findings show that many of the students had experiences with education about the prevention of infection. There were differences in their performance of infection prevention management among the sites of clinical training with university and general hospitals recording a high level of performance. These findings raise a need to make guidelines for infection management, distribute them to sites of clinical training, and manage them through the staff during clinical training. The schools need to run educational program for infection management in relation to clinical training and establish a systematic institution.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.143-150
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• 2023

The global outbreak of COVID-19 has underscored the pressing need for robust infection control practices in pulmonary function laboratories (PFL). However, the existing guidelines and regulatory frameworks provided by relevant authorities in the country have revealed certain deficiencies in effectively addressing this significant public health crisis. This study surveyed the infection control regulations, disposable item usage, ventilation facilities, spatial separation, and the configuration of entrance doors in 51 domestic hospital facilities from Oct 1, 2021, to Nov 2, 2021. The survey findings revealed that while there was a relatively satisfactory adherence to airborne, droplet, and contact precautions with adequate awareness and utilization of personal protective equipment, the environmental disinfection practices exhibited a suboptimal performance rate of 39.22% per patient. Depending on the specific survey domains, substantial variations were observed in the utilization of disposable items (81.05%), ventilation systems (45.75%), dedicated testing spaces (80.39%), separation of administrative areas (15.69%), and the installation of automated doors (19.61%). This study not only highlights the paramount importance of infection control in PFLs within domestic medical institutions but also provides foundational data for developing and enhancing standardized guidelines that align with international benchmarks for infection control in these settings.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.53 no.1
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• pp.11-18
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• 2021

Respiratory viruses (RVs) cause infections in hospital environments through direct contact with infected visitors. In infection control, it causes major problems of acquired infections in hospitals by respiratory viruses. The surveillance data derived from clinical laboratories are often used to properly allocate medical resources to hospitals and communities for treatment, consumables, and diagnostic product purchases in the institutions and public health sectors that provide health care. An early diagnosis is essential in infection with respiratory viruses, and methods that can be used in diagnostic methods using respiratory samples include virus culture, molecular diagnosis, and analysis. A microchip provides a new strategy for developing a more diverse and powerful technology called point-of-care testing. The importance of the respiratory system should be applied strictly to the infection control guidelines to ensure the occupational health and safety of health care workers. Evidence of clinical efficacy, including this study, is challenging the long-standing paradigm for infection propagation. Additional assistance will be needed for frequent tests to detect respiratory viruses in inpatients who have begun to show new respiratory symptoms indicating infections requiring efforts to control the infection.

• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.51-60
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• 2021

Purpose: Tuberculosis(TB) care unit in public health center should be carefully considered to be re-designed as an infection safety environment for both patient and healthcare workers. So, for the enhancement, this study analyses the facility requirements for co-using the screening clinic as a TB and other respiratory disease care unit. Methods: Not only screening clinic facility guidelines from "A Study for Standard Triage Design and Construction Document" but also the guidelines of TB care and related medical facility are reviewed; KDCA, CDC, ECDC and WHO as a TB care, and FGI and NHS for facility. The facility requirements are summarized space, approach, and mechanical requirement in order. By comparing the summary and screening clinic facility guidelines, supplementations are proposed for TB care unit setting. Results: The result of this study shows that both the space program and mechanical requirement of the screening clinic and that of TB care unit are almost identical and could be share, which include direct airflow or negative air pressure in an exam room. To increase functional and economical efficiency, however, it is necessary to consider a multi-functional negative pressured room, So care process may be re-designed based on a room type; face-to-face room or glass wall inbetween. Implications: The facility guidelines for TB care unit of a public health center should be developed to build a safe environment for infection control by reflecting its medical plan and budget.