Hospital-Acquired Infections Essay Sample Paper
Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) are identified as a source of concern in inpatient care settings since they are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. However, efforts to address HAI as an urgent concern are hindered by the scarcity of data. Examples of HAIs include surgical site infection, respiratory tract infection, and bloodstream infection (Labi et al., 2019). Other HAIs include ventilator-associated pneumonia, central line-associated bloodstream infection, and catheter acquired urinary tract infection. The occurrence has been associated with prolonged hospital stay and higher cost of care from using more expensive medication. There is a need to stringently apply infection control measures that target the control of HAIs (Koirala & Acharya, 2018).
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Best Practice Based on the Study
Despotovic et al. (2020) add to the discussion by notes that HAI rates are very high in ICU settings, and their control is complicated by the high antimicrobial resistance rates reported at more than 50%. Invasive devices and viral CNS infection are specifically are risk factors for HAIs, with intubation and diabetes increases the risk of mortality following HAI incidence. This state of affairs indicates limitations in the control strategies being applied and a need to revise them while presenting more effective strategies to reduce HAI incidence and burden (Despotovic et al., 2020). Invasive devices referred to medical devices initiated into the body through a break or opening in the skin or body. They elevated the risk of HAIs during medical practice seven times compared to other causes of HAIs. Medical providers should ensure clean reusable invasive devices and the site where the device is introduced, thus averting the risk of invasive device-centered HAIs. Nekkab et al. (2017) similarly note that HAI is a concern further complicated by emerging multi-drug resistance that now threatens the health care system. Multi-drug resistance organisms include germs, mainly bacteria that accumulate progressively, making antibiotics ineffective, causing HAIs resulting from such bacteria. Events of drug-resistance infections may be averted in hospital contexts by immunizing patients with germs or bacteria, ensuring hygiene during patient care, and ensuring that patients consume antibiotics as prescribed and critical (Nekkab et al., 2017). Averting infections within the medical settings avert the transmission of resistant bacteria.
Conclusion
An effective response against HAI should adopt the wide-scale approach as HAIs affect the patient transfer networks (Nekkab et al., 2017). Based on the presented evidence, HAIs present an urgent concern in inpatient settings, and that they can be controlled by managing the risk factors to include invasive devices, viral CNS infection, intubation, and diabetes mellitus. Also, infection control measures should be applied stringently to reduce the incidence of HAIs.
References
Despotovic, A., Milosevic, B., Milosevic, I., Cirkovic, A., Jovanovic, S., Stevanovic, G., & Stevanovic, G. (2020). Hospital-acquired infections in the adult intensive care unit—Epidemiology, antimicrobial resistance patterns, and risk factors for acquisition and mortality. American Journal of Infection Control, 48(10), P1211-1215. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2020.01.009
Koirala, A., & Acharya, D. (2018). Profile of hospital acquired infection in tertiary level hospital. International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 73(Suppl. 1). 291-292. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2018.04.4079
Labi, A., Obeng-Nkrumah, N., Owusu, E., Bjerrum, S., Bediako-Bowan, A., Sunkwa-Mills, G., … & Newman, M. (2018). Multi-centre point-prevalence survey of hospital-acquired infections in Ghana. The Journal of Hospital Infection, 101(1), 60-68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2018.04.019
Nekkab, N., Astagneau, P., Temime, L., & Crépey, P. (2017). Spread of hospital-acquired infections: A comparison of healthcare networks. PLoS Computational Biology, 13(8), e1005666. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005666
Assignment: Evidence-Based Project, Part 5: Recommending an Evidence-Based Practice Change The collection of evidence is an activity that occurs with an endgame in mind. For example, law enforcement professionals collect evidence to support a decision to charge those accused of criminal activity. Similarly, evidence-based healthcare practitioners collect evidence to support decisions in pursuit of specific healthcare outcomes. In this Assignment, you will identify an issue or opportunity for change within your healthcare organization and propose an idea for a change in practice supported by an EBP approach. To Prepare: Reflect on the four peer-reviewed articles you critically appraised in Module 4, related to your clinical topic of interest and PICOT. Reflect on your current healthcare organization and think about potential opportunities for evidence-based change, using your topic of interest and PICOT as the basis for your reflection. The Assignment: (Evidence-Based Project) Part 5: Recommending an Evidence-Based Practice Change Create an 8- to 9-slide PowerPoint presentation in which you do the following: Briefly describe your healthcare organization, including its culture and readiness for change. (You may opt to keep various elements of this anonymous, such as your company name.) Describe the current problem or opportunity for change. Include in this description the circumstances surrounding the need for change, the scope of the issue, the stakeholders involved, and the risks associated with change implementation in general. Propose an evidence-based idea for a change in practice using an EBP approach to decision making. Note that you may find further research needs to be conducted if sufficient evidence is not discovered. Describe your plan for knowledge transfer of this change, including knowledge creation, dissemination, and organizational adoption and implementation. Describe the measurable outcomes you hope to achieve with the implementation of this evidence-based change. Be sure to provide APA citations of the supporting evidence-based peer reviewed articles you selected to support your thinking. Add a lessons learned section that includes the following: A summary of the critical appraisal of the peer-reviewed articles you previously submitted An explanation about what you learned from completing the Evaluation Table within the Critical Appraisal Tool Worksheet Template (1-3 slides)