title: Cross-infection prevention, basic hygiene practices and education within nursing and health care in Latvia: a Swedish-Latvian practice development project.
abstract: The primary aim of this practice development project was to explore the level of knowledge of nursing and medical staff at the Infection Clinic at Liepaja regarding the spread of infectious diseases. Arrangements were also made for some of the Latvian health care staff to visit the Infection Clinic in Gothenburg to increase their knowledge about basic hygiene and to enable them to study the research in this area. Later we were able to formulate this new knowledge into written guidelines. The theoretical education started with questions regarding staffs expertise in preventing the spread of infections. Areas covered were handwashing, hand disinfection, use of disposable gloves and protective clothing. This revealed a need for development of both theoretical and practical knowledge in this area. However, hygiene practices improved after the theoretical education and the visits to the Infection Clinic in Gothenburg. On our return visit to Liepaja dispensers of liquid soap together with hand disinfectants were evident at every wash basin on the unit. Disposable gloves were also routinely used for the dressing of wounds and invasive procedures. Furthermore, disposable coats and masks were used when caring for highly infectious patients. The key cultural differences were the lack of nursing documentation and the relative absence of a dialogue directly between the nurse and the patient.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health and Caring Sciences, Institute of Nursing, Gothenburg University, Box 457, SE-405 30, Sweden. harrieth.thunberg-sjostrom@fhs.gu.se
authors.forename: Harrieth
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Thunberg Sjöström
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Skyman
authors.forename: Lisbeth
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hellström
authors.forename: Marite
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kula
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Grinevika
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D006272:Health Facility Environment; D006801:Humans; D006920:Hygiene / Q000193:education*; D017053:Infection Control / Q000379:methods*; D007393:International Educational Exchange; D007844:Latvia; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009729:Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D015402:Nursing Education Research; D013548:Sweden