Improvised designing of dental care service centres can prevent Nosocomial infections

Abstract

Infection control and prevention are critical aspects of healthcare, especially in hospitals where patients are vulnerable to acquiring infections during their stay. Hospital-acquired infections, also known as nosocomial infections, have become a major concern in recent years and got more attention after widespread of the recent COVID-19 pandemic. In terms of a dental healthcare facility, it is important to understand the types of infections present in the facility environment and the associated risks with them along with their cross-transmission risk. A dental hospital has different working zones which are interdependent which increases the chances of infection propagation. To avoid the propagation of these infections, standard protocols, and preventive measures have been discussed widely but one of the most important factors which is the designing and planning of the healthcare facilities has not been discussed much from the aspect of propagation of infections which could largely decrease the propagation of the infections from different areas within the facility and infecting a different group of peoples in it. The prime focus of the study was on reviewing infectious pathogens related to nosocomial infections, pathogenicity, the risks associated, and ways to reduce the propagation through the implementation of architectural planning movement flow and designing of a dental hospital.