Final answer:
The CDC created standard precautions to establish a set of minimum infection prevention practices to protect against contagious diseases and to be applied universally in healthcare settings, informed by lessons learned from past disease outbreaks and public health challenges.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) created standard precautions primarily to ensure a robust public health response to contagious diseases and to protect both healthcare workers and patients from infections. After observing the devastating impacts of disease outbreaks, such as AIDS in the 1980s and its initially limited funding in comparison to other diseases like Legionnaires' the CDC recognized the need for consistent and effective infection control practices.
The agency also considered the severity and preventability of diseases which further reinforces the rationale behind these precautions. Standard precautions are meant to be a set of minimum infection prevention practices that apply to all patient care regardless of the suspected or confirmed infection status of the patient.