Health-Associated Infections (HAI) Essay Example

Introduction

Health-Associated Infections (HAI) refers to complications in healthcare which are associated with high rates of mortalities. In every year, 1 out of 25 patients in U.S hospitals is diagnosed with an infection that is linked to care in hospitals (Wilson, 2015). HAIs infections are caused by some antibiotic bacteria which generally lead to death or sepsis. The paper entails a change proposal towards reducing infections in surgical areas. It precisely focuses on the impact of preoperative showing with skin antiseptics in reducing surgical site infections.

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Nursing Practice Issue Related To the Topic

Some health care workers don't follow the required infection protocols when performing the surgery. Majority of healthcare workers are ignorant while a few are incompetent to carry out their work (Taljaard, 2017). As a result, there are increased site of infections after various surgeries. Surgical site infections occur due to an inadvertent transfer of bacteria to the patient.

The Scope of the Practice Issue

The scope of the practice targets both an association of the question to nursing and the source of the problem. A picot format is necessary to discover the creation of the issue. Picot format facilitates a strategy that enables a reduction of surgery infections. Washing of hands before and after surgery should be encouraged in a medical and nursing field. However, the biggest challenge is that human being can be much negligent (Wilson, 2015). They fail to understand that a simple task of washing their hands can save a lot of problems and complications after a surgical process. In most cases, it is either done partly or not even done at all. However, there is a standard procedure in place which enables healthcare workers to follow standards of care properly.

Practice Area and How the Practice Issue Was Identified

The practice areas for the issue include clinical sites, surgical rooms, and community health centers. The practice issue was identified in several ways. It was identified by analyzing the concerns of risk and safety provided a better approach for management. In 2015, a relevance study was used to compare different types of hand antisepsis before and after surgery (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2015). After completion of the analysis, the feedback ascertained that washing of hands using hand antisepsis before and after surgery would reduce cases of SSIs in quite significant levels.

The practice issue was identified after realizing that patient's outcomes after surgeries were unsatisfactory. For instance, quite many patients were suffering from SSIs after undergoing a surgical process. After general reasoning, most of the healthcare workers were ignorant to follow protocols needed in performing surgery. They were ignoring to wash their hands before and after the surgery. Another method of identification of the practice issue was by performing both random and non-randomized attempts (Smith et al., 2014). The trials were controlled and scrutinized before and after the study. After that, a time series analysis was done with no interruptions. The intention was to assess the purpose of washing hands to improve health standards during and after surgery.

The Rationale for the Identification

They tend to keep patients away from the risks that result from a surgical process. Also, they enable healthcare workers to learn how to abide by all protocols needed during the surgery (Smith et al., 2014). Another importance is that they teach the rationale of every healthcare worker to wash hands or sterilize surgical material before and after the surgery. As a result, they help reduce risks of patients leaving hospitals with complications.

Evidence to be Collected and the Rationale for Collecting Evidence

The following are some of the evidence that must be collected. They include the clinical expert surgery guidelines, the opinion of the experts, and the patient's preferences. Other evidence to obtain consists of the standards of surgery which incorporate regulatorily and the levels of professionalism. The justification for obtaining guideline evidence is to reduce cases of SSIs through utilizing prophylaxis measures that reluctant to evidence (Smith et al., 2014). Evidence gathered from guidelines enable organizations that promote safety measures in surgery to perform effectively. Others such as clinical expertise, professionalism provide health workers with critical information needed when handling the patient. Evidence gathered from expert's opinions, and patient's preferences provide precautions to warn healthcare workers who are ignorant of their work. As a result, they are very keen especially maintaining hand hygiene measures. Evidence from Patient opinions creates a modality that is patient-centered to reduce cases of SSIs.

Description of the Practice Problem

Washing hand before and after performing surgery is the most natural thing that health workers can use to reduce incidences of infections to the patients. Bacteria are widely spread from one patient to another if precautions are not strictly taken in advance. They multiply and spread to all people regardless of the age or gender of the person. In several cases, some health care providers have been spotted walking into a special room of the patient suffering from DCiff without having their PPE (Tanner, 2016). Surprisingly, they step out of place and move to the next patient without washing their hands. From scientific research, CDiff can survive up to 6 months while on the surface. The ignorant of such health workers put the health condition of others at risk.

Addressed Statement Question and How It Relates To the Practice Issue

The main statement of matter revolves along many cases of death among patients due to the carelessness of healthcare workers. In every year, there are an increased number of patients suffering from infections which results from careless surgical processes. However, by washing hand and sterilizing surgical materials reduces possibilities of infections among patients before and after surgery (Taljaard, 2017). Most importantly, washing or even bathing using skin antiseptics will help reduce cases of SSIs infections.

Interventions to Improve Patient Outcomes

There are various interventions to improve patient outcome after every surgical process. As proposed by multiple authors in different articles, healthcare providers should wash their hands using antiseptic detergents before and after performing surgical procedures (Taljaard, 2017). Also, they should sterilize all surgical tools that are needed during the surgical process. The main aim for the above interventions is to kill bacteria that would put the health of a patient at risk.

Summary of the Main Findings

The main findings from all used sources suggest that bathing or showering using skin antiseptics can help reduce infections that might result in unwanted death. All healthcare workers should ensure they wash their hands using the recommended skin antiseptic detergents before and after performing any surgical process (Tanner, 2016). Also, the healthcare provider should be sober when treating patients to avoid the spread of diseases within hospital settings.

Evidence-Based Solutions Considered For the Project

Evidence-based solutions to reduce infections before and after the surgery process include ensuring that all health care units are sanitary (Wilson, 2015). Also, the establishment methods to closely monitor health care providers to ensure they wash their hands with antiseptic detergents. Most importantly, in all hospital settings, surgical tools should be sterilized appropriately. There should be an implementation of a plan to monitor the health conditions of the patients before and after surgery.

Limitations to the Studies That Affect the Ability for Productive Research in the Project

Several limitations influence the ability to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the above project. Firstly, there are high rates of biases when collecting evidence from various sources. Some individuals are corrupt. Therefore, it is difficult to obtain the exact information needed for the project. There is a challenge of finance to facilitate the whole research process (Tanner, 2016). Due to lack of enough money, it is not possible to travel and seek information from superior hospitals. More so, there is a problem with language barriers. For example, some of the patients are illiterate and hence it is difficult to communicate with them effectively.

Conclusion

HAIs are known to be among the major health complications in the modern world. Most of them are linked to carelessness especially when conducting surgical process. However, prevention of HAIs infections can be achieved in several ways. For instance, all health care providers should wash or shower with skin antiseptics before and after performing any surgical procedures. More so, they should sterilize surgical tools with the required detergents to kill bacteria which can lead to death and sepsis.

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2015, Feb 24). Retrieved from CDC.gov: https://www.cdc.gov/hai/organisms/cdiff/cdiff-patient.html

Smith, M. A., Dahlen, N. R., Bruemmer, A., Davis, S., & Heishman, C. (2014). Clinical practice guideline surgical site infection prevention. Orthopaedic Nursing, 32(5), 242-248.

Taljaard, D. J. (2017, sept 01). Interventions to improve hand hygiene compliance in patient care. Retrieved from https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD005186.pub4/full

Tanner J, D. J. (2016, 01 22). Cochrane. Retrieved from cochrane.org: https://www.cochrane.org/CD004288/WOUNDS_surgical-hand-antisepsis-reduce-surgical-site-infection

Wilson, J. (2015). How to reduce the risk of surgical site infection. Nursing times, 111(38), 12-16.