Introduction
Healthcare-associated infections represent a significant public health problem regarding financial and mortality. About two million hospitalized patients contract HAI during treatment, and one in 17 patients dies (Haque et al., 2018). Significant illnesses are directly related to care, such as catheter-associated urinary tract infections (Global Alliance for Infections in Surgery, 2019). Others are associated with the spread of infections within the hospital during a pandemic. Educational interventions to prevent HAI are expected to reduce infections and improve treatment outcomes.
Problem Statement
Patients who experience HAI have to stay in the hospital longer, which leads to an increased risk of mortality and increased hospital costs. Prevention of HAIs is part of the responsibility of nurses to patients; there is a need to raise awareness of how to prevent them. Prevention will reduce mortality and allow nurses to focus on treating the patient’s underlying condition. Simple measures can improve patient care and prevent deaths, so medical staff should communicate them.
Population of Interest
Training sessions on HAI prevention are especially needed for nurses working on the surgical floor. This is since the main HAIs are associated with surgical interventions. HAIs include bloodstream infections due to infusions, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, and infections during colon surgery (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020). For nurses on the surgical floor, preventive measures are significant to focus on the underlying disease.
Intervention of Interest
The primary prevention measures are associated with washing hands after touching body fluids, removing gloves, and contact between patients. It is necessary to carry out work exclusively with gloves; the nurse must wear a medical gown during any manipulations. All reusable equipment before a new patient must be cleaned and surfaces disinfected. Open lectures and brochures describing these methods can increase the understanding of preventive measures by professional nurses.
Comparison of Interest
The performance of educational interventions is compared with their lack in terms of improving patient care. As a result of increased awareness among professional nurses, precautions regarding hygiene procedures will increase. As a result of a more responsible attitude to hygiene measures, the number of HAIs will decrease. With a decrease in HAI, professional nurses will be able to increase attention to the patient’s main problem, which will positively affect their health.
Outcome of Interest
The desired outcome implies improved care for patients in order to achieve the best outcome for their health. In addition, as a passive effect, health care costs will be reduced by reducing the amount of time spent in the clinic. One of the essential effects will be a decrease in the mortality of patients as a result of HAIs. Prevention of HAIs should become one of the primary responsibilities of professional nurses.
Timeframe
The expected time frame for improving patient care as a result of professional nurse education in the field of HAI prevention is limited to four months. This is a sufficient period for evaluating the effectiveness since it is possible to conduct educational campaigns and evaluate their effect during its time. An assessment of the effect can be made by analyzing the number of repeated hospitalizations and deaths compared to the previous period.
Conclusion
Thus, the education of professional nurses in the field of prevention of HCAI will help improve patients’ health. Compliance with simple hygiene measures will not only allow the medical staff to pay attention to the main problem of the patient, reduce the number of deaths and reduce the cost of medical care. Educational interventions can be assessed four months after implementation by assessing the number of readmissions and patient deaths.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). Current HAI progress report. CDC.gov.
Global Alliance for Infections in Surgery. (2019). 7 strategies to prevent healthcare-associated infections.
Haque, M., Sartelli, M., McKimm, J., & Abu Bakar, M. (2018). Health care-associated infections – an overview. Infection and drug resistance, 11(1), 2321–2333.