Final answer:
Standard Precautions should be used by Nursing Assistants for all patients, regardless of the presence of infectious or non-infectious diseases, age, or other factors. These precautions protect against the transmission of microorganisms and are mandatory in healthcare settings.
Step-by-step explanation:
Standard Precautions are the basic level of infection control that healthcare workers must use for the care of all patients all of the time, regardless of their diagnosis or presumed infection status. These precautions are designed to reduce the risk of transmission of microorganisms from both recognized and unrecognized sources of infection. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Standard Precautions include hand hygiene, use of personal protective equipment (PPE), respiratory hygiene/cough etiquette, safe injection practices, safe handling of potentially contaminated equipment or surfaces in the patient environment, and more.
Regardless of whether a patient has an infectious or non-infectious disease, these precautions protect both the healthcare provider and patients from potential infections. Frequent hand washing, for example, is a core component of this protocol and can help reduce the risk of infectious diseases. This attention to precaution not only helps protect individual patients like Marisa, who are isolated due to infection, but also ensures the overall safety of the healthcare environment.