1. Cross Infection in The Nursery
Presented by
Rosemary Oke, MPH student
Walden University
PUBH 6165
Instructor: Dr. Rubin Howard
Spring, 2010
Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, my name is Rosemary Oke, I am an MPH student with Walden University, and I shall be talking about the importance of preventing cross infection in the nursery. I got interested in the topic as a result of my volunteer work in the children ministry in my church. I observed that most nursery worker do not know or understand the importance of using gloves, wiping changing tables and proper disposal of soiled diapers in the prevention of cross infection. In this presentation I shall be talking about cross infection in details. Please feel free to stop me at any time during the presentation if you get confused or have any questions, I will be more than happy to enlighten you.

2. Target Audience
Non – clinical nursery, daycare and community workers who care for babies and toddlers in the nursery.
The term non- clinical means people who have no- clinical experience, never worked in an hospital or a sterile environment, and have no formal training about the importance of cross infection. My target audiences are nursery workers working with babies and toddlers in the nursery of a church, daycare, or community centers.

3. Purpose of this presentation
Create awareness of of cross infection.
Know the simple basic things that can safe life.
At the end of the presentation nursery worker will be more knowledgeable about cross infection
Apply the new knowledge to the care of babies in the nursery.
Nursery worker who work with children in the nursery, have little or no knowledge about cross infection in the nursery. Cross infection simply means transferring or passing infection from one child to another. Research has shown that simple hand washing reduces the risk of cross infection , cleaning diaper table with disinfection wipes after each diaper change reduces the risk of cross infection , and maintaining standard precaution.
According to Smeltzer & Bare (2000) standard precaution is a set of protective behavior; the element of standard precaution include hand washing, glove use, use of mask, eye protection, face shield, gown use, handling of patient care equipment, environmental control, handling linen, occupation health, and blood pathogens , and patient placement.
In this presentation we shall be concentrating on hand washing, use of glove, and gown use in the care of babies in the nursery.

4. What is cross infection in the nursery
This pictures shows a typical nursery, which brings me to the question, what is cross infection? Cross infection is the physical movement or transfer of harmful bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites from one person, object, or place to another.
Cross infection accounts for half of all major complications of hospitalization ( Healthline,2010)

5. Ways of passing infection in the nursery
Poor hand washing technique.
Not disinfecting the diaper table after each diaper change.
Not using alcohol hand sanitizer after diaper change
Improper disposal of soiled diaper
The importance of hand washing can not be overemphasized nappies, etc. Hands should be washed after contact with handkerchiefs, tissues and nappies (Stockport, 2006) to prevent cross infection. Basic steps of hand washing
Wash Your Hands: The Right Way
When washing hands with soap and water:
Wet your hands with clean running water and apply soap. Use warm water if it is available.
Rub hands together to make a lather and scrub all surfaces.
Continue rubbing hands for seconds. Need a timer? Imagine singing "Happy Birthday" twice through to a friend.
Rinse hands well under running water.
Dry your hands using a paper towel or air dryer. If possible, use your paper towel to turn off the faucet.
Always use soap and water if your hands are visibly dirty.
If soap and clean water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub to clean your hands. Alcohol-based hand rubs significantly reduce the number of germs on skin and are fast-acting (CDC, 2010).
Nappy Hygiene:
A designated area should be assigned for nappy changing. Tables used for play or
preparing/serving food must not be used for this purpose. Hand washing facilities must be
available in this area.
Changing mats should be clean and waterproof with no breaks or tears in the covering. Paper
towel can be used to protect the changing mat and must be discarded between uses. If the
mat becomes soiled, it must be washed and dried and thoroughly wiped with pre-sept. (disinfectant) solution before further use.
Disposable nappies should be wrapped securely in a plastic bag before being placed in a waste
bin. All nappies should be covered with an outer waterproof layer to prevent leakage.
Thorough hand washing must be undertaken following nappy change, contact with soiled
nappies or with changing mats (stockport, 2006)

6. Signs and symptoms of cross infection
Fever
rapid breathing,
mental confusion,
low blood pressure,
reduced urine output,
painful joints and muscles,
(Health line, 2010)
When we fail to wash our hands or use alcohol sanitizer to disinfect our hands, we predispose children in the nursery to cross infection. The child starts manifesting signs and symptoms such as fever, temperature above 104, rapid breathing, low blood pressure, reduced urine as a result of high fever, and painful joints due to dehydration (Health line.2010). The child ends up in the hospital for an illness that could have being avoided, if we had taken the simple precaution such as hand washing, wiping mats and diaper tables, and using gloves when dealing with soiled diapers and tissues

7. Prevention of cross infection in the nursery
Here we have a picture of a baby, changing table, hands free diaper bin, a sink showing you the proper way of washing your hand and a hand sanitizer, these are our basic work station where we care for babies and toddlers

8. Recommendation Use of gloves for each diaper change
Good hand washing technique.
Proper disposal of soiled diapers, tissues, and handkerchiefs
Gloves are highly recommended because it protects the babies, as well as the health care workers from cross infection. Clean hands prevent infections. Keeping hands clean prevents illness at home, at school, and at work. Hand hygiene practices are key prevention tools in healthcare settings, in daycare facilities, in schools and public institutions (CDC, 2010) if soap and clean water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub to clean your hands. Alcohol-based hand rubs significantly reduce the number of germs on skin and are fast-acting (2010).
Feces and urine in the diapers are likely to contain infectious material, caregivers, who change children in child care must be careful about where soiled diapers are placed Store soiled diapers in containers separate from other waste. Fecal material and urine should not be mixed with regular trash and garbage.
Where possible, dispose of soiled disposable diapers as biological waste rather than in the local landfill (Global health care, 2006)

9. In conclusion Cross infection Awareness among nursery workers
Reduction of hospital related complications
Maintain standard precautions
Cross infection is the physical movement or transfer of harmful bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites from one person, object, or place to another.
Cross infection accounts for half of all major complications of hospitalization ( Healthline,2010)
Creating awareness of cross infection will among nursery workers will reduce the occurrence and complication of hospitalization
Maintain standard precautions by using gloves, hand sanitizer, standard precaution.
According to Smeltzer & Bare (2000) I standard precaution s a set of protective behavior; the element of standard precaution include hand washing, glove use, use of mask, eye protection, face shield, gown use, handling of patient care equipment, environmental control, handling linen, occupation health, and blood pathogens , and patient placement.

10. Sources for Further Reading
Center for disease control
Health line
Access Excellence. (2010, March). Hand washing. Retrieved from /hand_background.php
Healthy child care (2006). Retrieved from t.aspx?page=f&content_id=84&language=co ntent

11. References
Center for disease control, (2010). Wash your hand. Retrieved from Fotosearch (2010). Question mark stock photos and images. Retrieved from images/question-mark.html Healthy child care (2006). Storage and Disposal of Soiled Diapers. Retrieved from Hand free diaper disposal (2010) retrieved from Health line (2010). Cross infection. Retrieved from 1/4#treatment Nursery picture (2010).Retrieved from Purell Instant Hand Sanitizer with Aloe (2010). Retrieved from Smelter, S. & Bare, B. (2000). Medical surgical nursing 9th (ed.). New York: Baltimore Lippincott Stockport primary care trust (2006, April). Infection control and cross infection guidelines for nursery. 3rd (ed). Retrieved from