Hepatitis C virus infection and risk factors in health-care workers at Ain Shams University Hospitals, Cairo, Egypt

The objectives of this study were to document the background prevalence and incidence of HCV infection among HCWs in Ain Shams University Hospitals in Cairo and analyse the risk factors for HCV infection. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2008 among 1770 HCWs. Anti-HCV prevalence was age-standardized using the Cairo population. A prospective cohort was followed for a period of 18 months to estimate HCV incidence. The crude anti-HCV prevalence was 8.0% and the age-standardized seroprevalence was 8.1%. Risk factors independently associated with HCV seropositivity were: age, manual worker, history of blood transfusions and history of parenteral anti-schistosomiasis treatment. The estimated incidence of HCV infection was 7.3 per 1000 person-years. HCWs in this setting had a similar high HCV seroprevalence as the general population of greater Cairo

Development of a conceptual model of the role of hospital nurses in health promotion in Jordan

International evidence reveals that hospital nurses have not been able to incorporate health promotion effectively into the framework of their care. This can be attributed to unclear conceptualizing of the barriers and facilitators to the role of nurses in health promotion. An integrative review was carried out to develop a conceptual model to assist hospital nurses in Jordan to understand how health promotion activities can be developed. Factors affecting the involvement of nurses in health promotion - ranging from limited knowledge about health promotion to the social image of nursing - can be structured into three levels: the micro [individual], meso [organizational] and macro [population]. By understanding the interplay of factors between and within the levels, nurses and other health professionals can draw on the individual, social and organizational factors that influence nurses' role in health promotion. The proposed model can be considered as a springboard for developing health promotion activities related to hospitals in other Muslim-majority contexts