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KMID : 1147520150080010026
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Korean Academy of Basic Medicine & Health Science
2015 Volume.8 No. 1 p.26 ~ p.32
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A Study of the Practice and Awareness of Infection Control Guidelines for Funeral Directors
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Choi Jeung-Mok
Nam Seung-Hyun
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Abstract
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This research focuses on the awareness of infection control guidelines in mortuaries amongst the mortuary workers as well as on calculating the actual number of workers who follow the guideline. The following results are obtained from surveying 124 employees. First, 87% of respondents are male and the average age is 41.7 years old. Their average work experience is 10.2 years, and they manage 30 cases of the deceased per month. Secondly, more than 78% of the respondents reported that they cannot distinguish diseases based on the infection control guidelines and through death certificates; 60-78% of the respondents reported that they are well aware of HIV, HBV, and Tuberculosis. On the other hand, only 21-38% of the respondents claim to be aware of varicella, multidrug resistant microorganisms and Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease characteristics. Despite the self-reported level of awareness of the contagiousness of HBV, tuberculosis, varicella, multidrug resistant microorganisms and Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease, a high number of those respondents 45-85% gave incorrect answers when tested on the matter. Although they claim to be well aware of the infection control guidelines and the infectious pathogens, they could not clearly distinguish the characteristics of the pathogens or did not have a clear knowledge about the infection. Thirdly, in regard to management, sanitation-handling and disposal of dead bodies when first receiving the body, only 15.3% of the bodies come with a detailed description on the cause of death and identification documents. Especially with contagious diseases, only 8.1% have the biohazard label on the body. Finally, when comparing the number of those who are aware of infectious control guidelines and those who follow it, most seemed to properly follow the guidelines for hand hygiene; however, for proper disinfection of tools, disposal of linens, and vaccination, there seemed to be a big difference between those who knew the guidelines and those who followed the guidelines.
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KEYWORD
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Funeral director, Infection control guidelines, Dead bodies, Sanitation, Contagious, Awareness
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