Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are widely-spread infections that occur when bacteria enter the urethra and infect the urinary system. Urinary tract infections are among the most common, and their symptoms range from mild symptoms to severe kidney inflammation. Infections are more common among women (63% of all cases) than men (Akram, 2022). UTIs risk factors for women include sexual intercourse while using spermicidal contraceptives and age-related factors.
Undertreated or ignored UTIs lead to significant complications in the future and the development of chronic conditions. Often, the patient has minor symptoms, does not see a doctor, or stops taking the medication until he recovers completely. All this leads to further preservation and spread of infection (Akram, 2022). The quality of life of a patient with a chronic disease is significantly reduced, and, in addition, he regularly goes to the hospital with a reoccurring infection.
Currently, the medical system is increasingly focusing on collaborating with staff and patients to provide more effective treatment outside the hospital. Patients can easily get overwhelmed with new information, procedures, and medical expenses. First, many people are poorly informed about UTI infections, their treatment, and their consequences. Secondly, patients do not know what steps can be taken to prevent the reoccurrence of infections. Thirdly, patients are ashamed to seek advice since some UTI symptoms are highly unpleasant and are associated with the sensitive topic of the urinary tract.
The primary purpose of the quality improvement initiative is to provide patients with reliable and easily accessible information anonymously. An anonymous site or app can provide information, test symptoms for UTI, suggest steps prevent and treat the infection, and point to local clinics to contact as soon as possible. People need to see that their problems are solvable and have all the resources to get help (Nogueira, 2020). Thus, they will stay in a positive state of mind and communicate more effectively with healthcare professionals.
In addition, education for patients on infections is necessary because many patients require mandatory antibiotic treatment. The misuse and overuse of antibiotics are reasons for the condition deterioration and high infection risks in the future. Therefore, patients should be informed in advance about the need for antibiotics (Trojanowski, 2018). This way, they will not be emotionally attacking a doctor who might think it is easier to prescribe antibiotics than to argue with a patient.
UTIs can contaminate anyone; that is why having information available anonymously to everyone is very important. However, women are the target group of this initiative because females between the age of 21-40 and 40+ get infected with UTIs in 63% of cases and can get reinfected easily (Akram, 2022). Additionally, women are especially sensitive to talking about urinary infections and may feel embarrassed and delay the visit to the doctor even while having severe, long-lasting symptoms. A site collecting, systematizing, and providing accessible data on various aspects of UTIs can significantly facilitate these people and support a positive attitude.
Many tools and programs help patients, but the information is scattered and located in different places. When people have a delicate issue, they are embarrassed and confused. They need access to one source of information that answers the whole range of emerging questions and includes a person in a network of communication and assistance (Trojanowski, 2018). The site should be focused on the local community since a person should receive primary support and expert advice in their city and district. Moreover, this initiative works from the perspective that younger generations will often rely on convenient applications and sites to access all the necessary information.
The site or application can collect statistical information on the number of requests to the program, which will make it easy to evaluate the effectiveness of the initiative in educating people and spreading information. The evaluation will include traffic flow tracking and the feedback left by the users directly to the service (Nogueira, 2020). The program can constantly be adjusted and improved based on the feedback received. In addition, by tracking traffic, you can understand what topics people are most interested in. This will provide future information to understand what initiatives and programs still need to be developed.
The development of medical websites and applications is becoming more and more popular over time. To develop an application or website from scratch, you need a development team, which initially costs $10,000-20,000 per sprint (2 weeks). After the development is completed, only a support team is required, including a project manager, a content manager, and 1-2 full-stack developers, which will speed up the costs to 8000-12000 dollars in 2 weeks (Nogueira, 2020). The program will require the collaboration of the UTI Sepsis Alliance, the US Department of Health and Human Services, and the American Nurses Association (ANA). It will also require the initial initiative of medical workers and managers to find local educators and establish cooperation with them.
The costs of building and maintaining a functional website and app are high, but a functioning platform takes the burden off medical professionals. Nurses and medical staff will not need to spend time with each patient to explain all the nuances. Furthermore, patients will feel safe, lessen their stress, and be prepared before visiting the specialist. UTI Prevention Information will keep patients healthy and prevent future hospital admissions.
The list of benefits of the UTI Patient Education Initiative affects the patient’s condition, improves patients’ treatment outcomes, and reduces the burden on medical staff due to effective collaboration. Such a project can anonymously provide information and pre-hospital consultation and create a network of medical organizations and support groups. This is an investment in the future, as modern people rely on the digitalization of information and services.
References
Nogueira, M. R., et al. (2020). Design and usability of an E-Health mobile application. International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, 314-328.
Akram, J., et al. (2022). Urinary tract infection and its risk factors in a tertiary care hospital. American Journal of Health, Medicine and Nursing Practice, 7(5), 44-52.
Trojanowski, J., et al. (2018). Why won’t antibiotics be used? Developing tools for education and communication concerning suspected UTI in Long Term Care (LTC). A project of the Colorado Long Term Care Research Partnership. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 19(3), 1-23.