The Guideline for Disinfection and Sterilization in Healthcare Facilities, 2008, presents evidence-
based recommendations on the preferred methods for cleaning, disinfection and sterilization of patient-
care medical devices and for cleaning and disinfecting the healthcare environment. This docume...nt
supercedes the relevant sections contained in the 1985 Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Guideline for
Handwashing and Environmental Control. 1 Because maximum effectiveness from disinfection and
sterilization results from first cleaning and removing organic and inorganic materials, this document also
reviews cleaning methods. The chemical disinfectants discussed for patient-care equipment include
alcohols, glutaraldehyde, formaldehyde, hydrogen peroxide, iodophors, ortho-phthalaldehyde, peracetic
acid, phenolics, quaternary ammonium compounds, and chlorine. The choice of disinfectant,
concentration, and exposure time is based on the risk for infection associated with use of the equipment
and other factors discussed in this guideline. The sterilization methods discussed include steam
sterilization, ethylene oxide (ETO), hydrogen peroxide gas plasma, and liquid peracetic acid. When
properly used, these cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization processes can reduce the risk for infection
associated with use of invasive and noninvasive medical and surgical devices. However, for these
processes to be effective, health-care workers should adhere strictly to the cleaning, disinfection, and
sterilization recommendations in this document and to instructions on product labels.
LAST UPDATE 2019
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The WHO and UNICEF-led Hand Hygiene for All Initiative aims at ensuring implementation for WHO's global recommendations on hand hygiene to prevent and control COVID-19 pandemic, and hand hygiene improvement sustainability in countries as a mainstay of wider infection prevention and control (IPC) and... water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) efforts.
But how can hand hygiene implementation be successful? By implementing strategies and approaches proven through the successes of the WHO Save Lives: Clean Your Hands campaign and fostering integration between hand hygiene and WASH improvements. This brief draws on learning from legacy work and the current evidence based and summarizes how joint action and collaboration are essential for successful strategies, in the context of the COVID-19 response and beyond
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The goal of this best practice guideline is to strengthen collaborative practice among nurses, because effective collaborative practice is essential for working in health-care organizations.
In this guideline, we focus on collaborative practice amongst three types of nursing professionals – reg...istered nurse (RN), registered practical nurse (RPN) and nurse practitioner (NP) – and explore what fosters healthy work environments for them, aware that collaboration must align with the needs of the patient or client.
This best practice guideline was developed to assist nurses, nursing leaders, other health professionals and senior managers to enhance positive outcomes for patients/clients individual/family/group/community), nurses, and the organization through intra-professional collaborative practice.
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Haiti is one of the worst food crises in the world with 46 percent of the population projected to be in high acute food security, mainly due to reduced agricultural production caused by a long period of drought, storms and increased prices of basic foodstuffs, which are compounded by the effects of ...the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
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The Working Group I contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report, Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis is now out (August 2021). The report addresses the most up-to-date physical understanding of the climate system and climate change, bringing together the latest advances in climate scien...ce, and combining multiple lines of evidence from paleoclimate, observations, process understanding, and global and regional climate simulations.
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Press Release for the Working Group I contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report, Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis
Available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanisch
This document presents an evidence-informed Checklist for implementing rural pathways to train and support the rural
health workforce in low and middle income countries (LMIC). Rural areas are the most underserviced around the world.
Nature Medicine, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-021-01283-z
Following flood levels of the hydrological stations monitored in Niamey (Niger Republic) and Malan Ville (Benin Republic) reaching the red alert zone, torrential rainfall and ensuing floods affected 91,254 people or 15,209 households in Jigawa, Kebbi, Kwara, Sokoto, and Zamfara state (amongst other ...states) of Nigeria on 6 October 2020. The flood incident was caused by the intensity of the rainfalls at the peak of the flood season and the release of dams located in neighbouring Niger, Cameroon, and Benin, which resulted in the Benue and Niger rivers overflowing and affecting communities living along their banks and in surrounding areas.
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this Service Delivery brief provides evidence-based strategies that can help support drug shops and pharmacies in providing a wider variety of family planning methods and information. Evidence shows that with training and support, pharmacy and drug shop staff can facilitate the use of a broad range ...of modern contraception, especially in areas where the unmet need is high, access to family planning services is poor, and health worker shortages and other barriers prevent women, men, and youth from accessing family planning services
Availabe in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese
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The framework sets out a response to current mental health challenges arising from the negative impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on population mental health and well-being. The EFAMH provides a coherent basis for intensified efforts to mainstream, promote and safeguard mental well-being as ...an integral element of COVID-19 response and recovery; to counter the stigma and discrimination associated with mental health conditions;
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Healthy people, healthy animals and a healthy environment worldwide with the One Health approach.
The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically demonstrated just how close the link is between humans, animals, and the environment, and has highlighted and aggravated existing challenges. The destruction of na...tural habitats and displacement of species, trade in wild animals, resource-intensive lifestyles and conditions, non-sustainable food systems and, in particular, industrial agriculture and intensive livestock farming are the causes of the emergence of zoonoses as well as numerous other communicable and non-communicable, chronic diseases.
The One Health approach focuses precisely on such interaction between humans, animals, and the environment.
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Early breast cancer: ESMO Clinical Practice Guidelines for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up
This guidance should be followed if an unlicensed medicine is prepared in
a registered pharmacy. The preparation of an unlicensed medicine (for
example unlicensed methadone, or menthol in aqueous cream) in a pharmacy is called ‘extemporaneous preparation’.
The guidance should be read alon...gside the standards for registered pharmacies. These aim to create and maintain the right
environment, both organizational and physical, for the safe and effective practice of pharmacy.
By following this guidance, the pharmacy will:
• demonstrate that it meets our standards, and
• provide assurances that the health, safetyand wellbeing of patients and the public are safeguarded
Responsibility for making sure this guidance is followed lies with the pharmacy owner. If the registered pharmacy is owned by a ‘body
corporate’, the directors have responsibility.
Those responsible for the overall safe running of the pharmacy need to take into account the nature of the pharmacy and the range of services
already provided and, most importantly, the needs of patients and members of the public.
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This is the sixth of our 11-paper supplement entitled “Community Health Workers at the Dawn of New Era”. Expectations of community health workers (CHWs) have expanded in recent years to encompass a wider array
of services to numerous subpopulations, engage communities to collaborate with and to... assist health systems in responding to complex and sometimes intensive threats. In this paper, we explore a set of key considerations for training of CHWs in response to their enhanced and changing roles and provide actionable recommendations based on
current evidence and case examples for health systems leaders and other stakeholders to utilize.
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This bi-weekly brief details the latest developments in scientific knowledge and public health policy from around the world as well as updates to the COVID-19-related guidance from Africa CDC, WHO and other public health agencies.