Health and Safety Lecture Review

Health and Safety Protocols

• Health and safety protocols are essential in medical environments to protect patients and healthcare workers.

• Universal precautions prevent the spread of infections.

  • Wearing gloves.

  • Washing hands.

  • Properly disposing of medical waste.

• Healthcare professionals must stay updated on safety regulations and follow the latest standards in infection control and patient safety.

• WHO aims to improve safety in healthcare by providing evidence-based guidelines to reduce medical errors (diagnostic, medication).

• The goal is to ensure safe, high-quality health services for everyone, regardless of location.

• Safety should be a priority for patients, health workers, and visitors.

• Minimize risks from medicines, procedures, and the environment.

• Patient safety includes the safety of everyone involved.

• Enhancing safety requires coordinated efforts across the health system.

  • Clinical practice safety.

  • Diagnostic safety.

  • Healthcare technology safety.

  • Medication safety.

  • Surgical safety.

  • Infection prevention and control.

  • Radiation safety.

  • Blood safety.

  • Maternal and newborn safety.

  • Occupational safety.

• World Patient Safety Day (September 17) raises global awareness and affirms commitment to patient safety.

• The WHO Office in Athens builds the capacity of healthcare workers through education and training.

• The Office partners with countries to assess safety in hospitals, primary healthcare facilities, and patients' homes.

Pharmacology Basics

• Pharmacology is the study of drugs, their effects on the body, and their therapeutic uses.

• Healthcare professionals (pharmacists, nurses, midwives) administer medications and ensure patient safety.

• Common medications include antibiotics (for infections) and analgesics (for pain).

• All medications have potential side effects. Examples:

  • Antibiotics: nausea.

  • Opioids: drowsiness or addiction if misused.

• Proper communication ensures safe and effective medication use.

• Pharmacy:

  • Derived from the Greek word "Pharmakon," meaning medicine or drug.

  • Defined as the art and science of preparing and dispensing drugs.

  • A health profession concerned with the knowledge of drugs and their uses.

  • Links health with chemical sciences.

  • Modern pharmacy services include patient care, clinical services, ensuring medication safety and efficacy, and providing counseling and drug information.

• Pharmacists are health practitioners responsive to patient needs.

• Pharmacist:

  • An expert on drugs and medicines.

  • A qualified person who manufactures, prepares, distributes, sells, or serves any prescription for any medicine, drug, or pharmaceutical preparation.

  • A skilled and highly-trained healthcare professional.

Patient Communication Skills

• Effective communication is essential in healthcare, especially for non-native English speakers.

• Healthcare professionals must:

  • Ask the right questions.

  • Listen carefully.

  • Provide clear explanations.

• Empathy is a key soft skill in building trust.

• Good communication impacts patient outcomes (explaining diagnoses, discussing treatment options, giving advice).

• Clinical communication is the exchange of information about a person's care.

  • Occurs between treating clinicians, multidisciplinary team members, and clinicians and patients/families/carers.

• The communication process involves:

  • Sender: The person communicating the information.

  • Receiver: The person receiving the information.

  • Message: The information that is communicated.

  • Channel of communication: verbal, written, and electronic means.

• Important considerations:

  • Structure.

  • Non-verbal communication (body language, eye-contact and tone).

• Channels of communication:

  • Verbal (face to face, over the phone, via video calls).

  • Written (emails, letters, faxes).

  • Electronic means.

• Communication processes can occur simultaneously (verbal communication between two clinicians) or at different times (written communication in healthcare records).

• A multidisciplinary team includes two or more clinicians from multiple disciplines, working together.

• Interdisciplinary care is included in multidisciplinary care.

• Why is it important?

  • Communication failures, lack of teamwork, and inadequate documentation lead to errors, misdiagnosis, inappropriate treatment, and poor care outcomes.

• Evidence shows that:

  • Communication problems are a major contributing factor of hospital sentinel events.

  • Communication failures are a commonly cited underlying cause of complaints about the healthcare system.

  • Poor medication management and communication increase the risk of adverse drug events.

Oral Health and Dentistry Vocabulary

• Oral health is critical to overall health.

• Dentists focus on diagnosing, treating, and preventing diseases of the teeth, gums, and mouth.

• Common conditions:

  • Gingivitis: inflammation of the gums.

  • Cavities: holes in the teeth caused by decay.

• Dental procedures:

  • Fillings.

  • Root canals.

  • Extractions.

• Oral hygiene (brushing and flossing) prevents dental problems and maintains good oral health.

• WHO definition of oral health: 'a state of being free from mouth and facial pain, oral and throat cancer, oral infection and sores, periodontal disease, tooth decay, tooth loss, and other diseases and disorders that limit an individual's capacity in biting, chewing, smiling, speaking, and psychosocial wellbeing.'

• Tooth decay (dental caries):

  • The most widespread chronic disease worldwide.

  • A major global public health challenge.

  • The most common childhood disease, affecting people of all ages.

  • Global prevalence of untreated decay of permanent teeth: over 40 percent for all ages.

  • Principally caused by sugar consumption.

  • Preventable by reducing sugar intake, appropriate fluoride use, and promoting good oral hygiene.

• Periodontal disease (gum disease):

  • Begins as gingivitis (chronic inflammation of the gums).

  • Gingivitis is widespread and reversible.

  • May progress to periodontitis, destroying tooth-supporting tissues and bone.

  • Severe periodontitis leads to tooth loss in about 15 percent of the population.

  • The disease process is poorly understood.

  • About 30 percent of people by the age of 65-74 years have lost all their teeth, with periodontal disease being the main cause.

  • Preventable through good oral hygiene and preventive policies.

• Oral cancer:

  • A disease with high mortality.

  • Among the 10 most common cancers (depending on country or world region).

  • Estimated 300,000 to 700,000 new cases occur every year.

  • Preventable by reducing tobacco and alcohol consumption.

  • Survival rates can be improved with early detection.

• Congenital anomalies:

  • Frequent in the face and mouth.

  • Cleft lip and/or palate (orofacial clefts - OFC) account for two-thirds of the total.

  • Clefts occur alone (70 percent) or as part of a syndrome, affecting more than 12 in 10,000 newborns worldwide.

  • Cleft lip and/or palate are the most frequent birth defects of the face and mouth, creating a heavy burden in terms of mortality, disability, quality of life and financial cost.

• Oral trauma:

  • Oral injuries account for 5 percent of all injuries.

  • Craniofacial trauma is responsible for about half of the estimated total 8.5 million trauma deaths worldwide.

  • Includes fractures of the jaws and other facial bones, as well as fractures, dislocations, and loss of teeth.

  • Preventable by improving public health policies and raising awareness of risks related to violence, sports, and road safety.