Summary
Infections acquired in the hospital are currently one of the major causes of mortality and morbidity. Proper hand hygiene (HH) practices, in turn, are considered to be an effective way to prevent the transmission of infections during communication and interaction between patients and medical staff. Despite the fact that health professionals are aware of the importance of HH, compliance levels remain low in many facilities, including the organization in question.
Objective
Evaluate the impact of using the PDSA model and Lewin’s three-step model in interdisciplinary teams on HH compliance. It is expected that the level of compliance in the given organization will increase as a result of the changes introduced. If achieved, this objective will have a significant positive impact on both organizational and patient outcomes, as it will reduce the spread of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs).
Questions and Predictions
- What tools will be used to collect data?
- Data collection tools will include a standard HH observation form, WHO’s Data Collection Tool, and a researcher-made HH questionnaire (Alper, 2021).
- What resources are likely to increase the participation of health personnel and patients?
- The resources used will include interventions recommended by the WHO concerning HH compliance and Electronic Message Boards, which will provide workers with the means to receive daily reminders and updates (Sands & Aunger, 2020). In addition, different types of HH signage, such as flyers and posters will have to be posted in various places, including bathrooms, nurses’ rooms, hand sanitizing stations, etc.
- How will compliance be ensured and maintained among health professionals?
- Compliance can be ensured through regular discussions held for the workers to gain their feedback regarding the implementation of the change; health professionals will be asked to assess their own compliance with HH requirements.
Change Theories and Leadership Strategy
The PDSA model, Lewin’s model, and transformational leadership will be used to implement the change, as they are likely to help interdisciplinary teams in the interviewee’s organization to collaborate and implement the plan proposal. The PDSA model will allow the teams to identify areas for improvement, while Lewin’s model of change will allow them to evaluate current processes together and gain buy-in from employees and leadership (Burnes, 2019). Finally, transformational leadership is chosen as the most efficient strategy because it provides focus on the concept of collaboration of all employees and a common goal they aim to achieve.
Team Collaboration Strategy
- The change managers in all teams will be responsible for assigning the activities to the members and ensuring their regular participation;
- The administrator will gather the results of each interdisciplinary team, analyze them, and develop a sequence of actions to take further;
- Hospital managers will use the outcomes of the team’s work to introduce policies and practices that will increase HH compliance.
Collaboration in regard to this project can be defined as the participants’ assumption of the roles that are complementary and help them to cooperate in achieving a common goal. The best type of collaboration in this project would be involving doctors, nurses, and other health professionals working in the given organization to consider each other’s specific abilities and skills. By exploring and combining these inputs, the efficiency of the approach will increase, which will help to meet the team’s needs using all its human resources. This collaboration approach is relevant to the team’s needs and will help to drive success because it contradicts workers’ negligence and aims to involve all of them in the problem-solving process.
Required Organizational Resources
The staffing needs of the project are minimal, as the interviewee’s organization already has competent professionals willing to implement the change. The teams will thus require about 30 doctors, nurses, and other employees working in the facility. Equipment and supplies needed include hand-washing stations and sanitizers, as well as Electronic Message Boards, which the organization has in sufficient amount. Access to the facility departments is required and easily available as well. Therefore, funds will mostly be required to cover staff time and will amount to 600$ for each team. If the change is not implemented, patient outcomes will be affected as the rates of HAIs will continue to grow.
References
Alper, P. (2021). Best practices for measuring hand hygiene compliance. Medline.
Burnes, B. (2019). The origins of Lewin’s three-step model of change.The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 56(1), 32-59.
Sands, M., & Aunger, R. (2020). Determinants of hand hygiene compliance among nurses in US hospitals: A formative research study.PLOS ONE, 15(4), e0230573.