NRS 493 Health Care Infections Evaluation

In nursing practice, accurate identification and application of research is essential to achieving successful outcomes. The ability to articulate research data and summarize relevant content supports the student’s ability to further develop and synthesize the assignments that constitute the components of the capstone project.

The assignment will be used to develop a written implementation plan.

For this assignment, provide a synopsis of the review of the research literature. Using the “Literature Evaluation Table,” determine the level and strength of the evidence for each of the eight research articles you have selected. The articles should be current (within the last 5 years) and closely relate to the PICOT question developed earlier in this course. The articles may include quantitative research, descriptive analyses, longitudinal studies, or meta-analysis articles. A systematic review may be used to provide background information for the purpose or problem identified in the proposed capstone project.

While APA style is not required for the body of this assignment, solid academic writing is expected, and in-text citations and references should be presented using APA documentation guidelines, which can be found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.NRS 493 Health Care Infections Evaluation

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Topic: Article Analysis 2

Search the GCU Library and find two new health care articles that use quantitative research. Do not use articles from a previous assignment, or articles that appear in the Topic Materials or textbook.

Complete an article analysis for each using the “Article Analysis: Part 2” template.

Refer to the “Patient Preference and Satisfaction in Hospital-at-Home and Usual Hospital Care for COPD Exacerbations: Results of a Randomised Controlled Trial,” in conjunction with the “Article Analysis Example 2,” for an example of an article analysis.

While APA style is not required for the body of this assignment, solid academic writing is expected, and documentation of sources should be presented using APA formatting guidelines, which can be found in the APA Style Guide

Hospital-associated infections sometimes called hospital-acquired infections present some of the major worrying conditions in healthcare organizations today. These infections cause patients and healthcare providers functional disability and mental stress, and in rare situations, they can progress to debilitating conditions that impede the patient’s treatment outcome and quality of life (Arefian et al., 2016). Nosocomial infections are some of the major hospital-acquired infections in many healthcare organizations today. They are also the leading cause of death among many patients on a global scale. Reducing these infections is therefore critical as it will help reduce the emotional trauma associated with hospital visits and stay while at the same time reducing the number of deaths associated with hospital-acquired infections. Against this backdrop, this paper will analyze infection control in healthcare organizations.NRS 493 Health Care Infections Evaluation

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The problem/Issue

Infections acquired in the hospital context, often known as healthcare-associated illnesses, which are infections that are neither present or incubating at the time of admission to the healthcare organization. Catheter-associated urinary tract infections, surgical site infections, central line-associated bloodstream infections, and ventilator-associated pneumonia or hospital-acquired pneumonia are some of the most common types of hospital-acquired infections. These infections are common within the healthcare setting, particularly among inpatients. According to the data provided by the CDC, about 1.7 million patients contract hospital-acquired infections every year. Out of this number, about 99,000 dies of hospital-acquired infections every year (Baker & Quinn, 2018). This is a shocking number that requires an immediate control mechanism to help save lives and bring safety within the hospital settings. Evaluation and management of HAIs are therefore critical within healthcare organizations. Interprofessional teams in this regard have the greatest role in improving care for patients within the hospital setting (Boev & Kiss, 2017).

The Setting/Context

Healthcare-associated infections commonly occur within hospital settings. In most cases, the infections are contracted during the treatment process or when the patient is admitted within the hospital setting. It should be noted that hospital-acquired infections are not present or incubating at the time of admission rather, they are contracted during the treatment process. However, the majority of these infections are contracted by the patient during his or her long stay at the facility (Friedrich, 2019). They’re obtained after being admitted to the hospital, and they usually show up 48 hours later. Healthcare organizations such as the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are frequently monitoring these illnesses.

Healthcare organizations have been paying attention to cases of hospital-acquired illnesses for decades. In order to assist reduce the occurrence of healthcare-acquired illnesses, several of these hospitals have developed infection tracking and monitoring systems as well as sophisticated infection prevention initiatives. Healthcare acquired infections continue to impact the reputation of many healthcare organizations since it tarnishes the name of the hospital and makes it appear unable to prevent the hospital-acquired infections that impact the overall patient treatment outcomes (Tajeddin et al., 2016). These infections also affect not only the individuals but also their communities as they have been linked to multidrug-resistant infections.

Description of the issue

The issue at stake in this analysis is infection control in healthcare organizations. Because of the impact of hospital-acquired infections not only on the patients but on the community and the healthcare organizations in general, preventing these infections becomes the number one priority for most healthcare organizations (Moriceau et al., 2016). Today, many healthcare organizations have developed robust systems and guidelines to help monitor and prevent these infections. Moreover, the Infectious Disease Society of America also provides guidelines for managing these infections within primary care settings. These guidelines are available to both the nurses as well as other healthcare professionals including physicians. Some common guidelines that have been put in place including but not limited to an assessment of the need for isolation and screening all the ICU patients for conditions such as neutropenia and immunological disorder, known communicable diseases, skin rashes, diarrhea, and other known carriers of an epidemic strain of bacterium among other conditions.

Effects of the problem

Hospital-acquired infections are some of the common causes of death among patients not only in the United States but also in other parts of the world. The data from the CDC indicates that about 1.7 million patients in America contract hospital-acquired infections. Out of this number, about 99,000 patients die from hospital-associated infections (Baker & Quinn, 2018). Although the risk of hospital-acquired infections is dependent on the infection control guidelines and practices adopted by the hospitals as well the immune system of the patients and the prevalence of the pathogens with the community, these infections present a serious problem within the global healthcare systems and organizations. Immunosuppression levels, hospital length of stay, old age, frequent hospital visits, underlying conditions of the patient as well long stay in ICUs also present an increased risk of these infections (Erb et al., 2017). However, with proper guidelines and practices, healthcare organizations can minimize the incidences of these infections and help improve the overall patient treatment outcome.

Significance and implication for nursing practice

Infection control in healthcare organizations is essential since it helps reduce the number of deaths associated with hospital-acquired infections. Within the nursing practice, the goal is to ensure greater treatment outcomes for patients; however, hospital-acquired infections prevent the achievement of this goal. In this case, nurses have the responsibility of ensuring they adhere to the control guidelines for them to be able to reduce infection incidences (Accardi et al., 2017). The nursing practice also must play a leading role in ensuring a high level of hygiene to help prevent infections associated with poor hygiene. Most importantly, infection control provides the foundation for understanding patient safety within healthcare organizations.

Proposed Solution

Hospital-associated infections are common causes of poor patient treatment outcomes, they increase the patient hospital length of stay, and increases the treatment cost. These infections also control about 49% of most deaths in healthcare organizations. In this case, developing proper guidelines including monitoring and surveillance and other infection control practices can help minimize the infection incidences thereby reducing the number of deaths and comorbidities.

References

Accardi, R., Castaldi, S., Marzullo, A., Ronchi, S., Laquintana, D., & Lusignani, M. (2017). Prevention of healthcare-associated infections: a descriptive study. Ann Ig, 29(2), 101-115.

Arefian, H., Vogel, M., Kwetkat, A., & Hartmann, M. (2016). An economic evaluation of interventions for the prevention of hospital-acquired infections: a systematic review. PloS one, 11(1), e0146381.

Baker, D., & Quinn, B. (2018). Hospital-acquired pneumonia prevention initiative-2: incidence of nonventilator hospital-acquired pneumonia in the United States. American journal of infection control, 46(1), 2-7.

Boev, C., & Kiss, E. (2017). Hospital-acquired infections: current trends and prevention. Critical Care Nursing Clinics, 29(1), 51-65.

Erb, S., Frei, R., Dangel, M., & Widmer, A. F. (2017). Multidrug-resistant organisms detected more than 48 hours after hospital admission are not necessarily hospital-acquired. infection control & hospital epidemiology, 38(1), 18-23.

Friedrich, A. W. (2019). Control of hospital-acquired infections and antimicrobial resistance in Europe: the way to go. Wiener Medizinische Wochenschrift, 169(1), 25-30.

Moriceau, G., Gagneux-Brunon, A., Gagnaire, J., Mariat, C., Lucht, F., Berthelot, P., & Botelho-Nevers, E. (2016). Preventing healthcare-associated infections: Residents and attending physicians need better training in advanced isolation precautions. Medecine et maladies infectieuses, 46(1), 14-19.

Tajeddin, E., Rashidan, M., Razaghi, M., Javadi, S. S., Sherafat, S. J., Alebouyeh, M., … & Zali, M. R. (2016). The role of the intensive care unit environment and health-care workers in the transmission of bacteria associated with hospital-acquired infections. Journal of infection and public health, 9(1), 13-23.