Professional Contagions in Health Service

The topic of my bachelor thesis is Professional Infections in Health Care. The definition of professional infection marks the diseases which affect certain profession groups at higher rate than other population. At assessing it is necessary to prove that an affected person got into touch with infection during service, and that the risk of infectious disease during work was demonstrably higher than in common life (Göpfertová, 2005). The most significant risk in health service is the transmission of infections and thus higher possibility of professional infection occurrence in a health worker. That is why it is important for health workers to have maximum information on these problems. Professional infections can be announced and acknowledged as contagious and parasitic occupational diseases. They belong to V. chapter in the list of occupational diseases and have legislatively social and economical consequences for an affected person. According to the statistics of the last few years the most frequently repeating diagnoses are as following: scabies, viral hepatises and tuberculosis. To prevent the infections it is important to adhere to hygienic and against-epidemic mode, barrier nursing care. Thus it is necessary for the health workers to have knowledge in following: which diseases belong to professional infections, how they are transmitted, what possibilities of prevention exist, and also that the affection by these infections can have serious health consequences. It is also necessary that complex occupational health care was administered within the whole range. Simultaneously, the health workers should be aware that according to valid legislation they are entitled to protection and safety of their health during service. The investigative part was carried out on the basis of quantitative research. The method of data collection was questioning, using the technique of a questionnaire. The questionnaire comprised 25 questions, 24 were closed, and 1 was half-open. The research group was non-medical workers in inpatient departments in Regional Hospital Náchod, Inc. The questionnaires were distributed to health workers apt to do health jobs without professional supervision, after gaining professional qualification (nurse, midwife) and health workers apt to do health jobs under professional supervision or direct management (health assistant, auxiliary nurse, emergency medical technician). The workers were of various age groups and practice in health care. In total, 150 questionnaires were distributed; rate of return was 115 of which 110 (100%) could be used for the final evaluation. The rest of them were discarded because they were filled in insufficiently. The first aim of my bachelor thesis was to find out about informedness on professional infections (contagious and parasitic occupational diseases) in non-medical workers in inpatient departments in Regional Hospital Náchod, Inc. The second aim was to find out about informedness on professional infections transmission and prevention in non-medical workers in inpatient departments in Regional Hospital Náchod, Inc. The third aim was to find out how the primary occupational health care is performed in non-medical workers in inpatient departments in Regional Hospital Náchod, Inc. On the basis of the results the hypothesis no. 1 was disproved. In this hypothesis I presumed that non-medical workers in inpatient departments in Regional Hospital Náchod, Inc. are informed on professional diseases (contagious and parasitic occupational diseases). Concerning the hypothesis no. 2 it can be stated that non-medical workers in inpatient departments in Regional Hospital Náchod, Inc. are informed on transmission and prevention of professional infections. This hypothesis was proved. Also no. 3 hypothesis was proved. The primary occupational health care is performed fully in non-medical workers in inpatient departments in Regional Hospital Náchod, Inc. This thesis could serve as a study material