Nursing Practice Problem : The Affects Of Hand Hygiene

These microorganisms are transmitted from poor hand hygiene from health care workers to patients as well as touching of contaminated equipment and environmental surfaces. Microorganisms are most commonly introduced to susceptible sites such as open wounds or other portals of entry by contaminated hands. Infection leads to adverse clinical outcomes and can directly threat patient recovery.

Implementation of patient care practices for infection control is the role of the nursing staff. Nurses are responsible for maintaining hygiene, consistent with hospital policies and good nursing practice on the ward and monitoring aseptic techniques, including hand-washing and use of isolation. It is also in their scope of practice to promptly report to the attending physician any evidence of infection in patients under the nurse’s care and initiating patient isolation and ordering culture specimens from any patient showing signs of a communicable disease, when the physician is not immediately available. Limiting patient exposure to infections from visitors, hospital staff, other patients, or equipment used for diagnosis or treatment and maintaining

There are numerous evidence-based practice interventions that have become standard nursing practices across the country. Hand hygiene is a nursing practice intervention that is currently evidence (research) based. It is one of, if not the most, important interventions practiced in providing standardized care. The rationale behind that statement refers to the high percentage of hospital acquired infections; hand hygiene practices are measures used for maximum effectiveness in reducing the spread of these infections. Compared to the various health care professionals who come in contact with patients when providing care, nurses are by far the largest faction that implements the highest quantity of direct patient care in health care. That said, of all the asepsis precautions, techniques, and interventions that are currently in place, hand hygiene is the single most effective intervention used by nurse to prevent themselves from infection and the cross-infection to their patients. Although this evidence-based intervention is of utmost importance to implement at all times, research shows the difficulty in influencing nurses and other health care professionals to practice hand hygiene as often as recommended.

The hospital is compliant with infection control protocol according to the CDC standard guidelines. “Hand hygiene, contact precautions, as well as cleaning and disinfecting patient care equipment and the patient’s environment are essential strategies for preventing the spread of health care–associated infections. Hand hygiene is addressed in NPSG.07.01.01. Contact precautions for patients with

Prevention strategies of nosocomial infections related to poor hand hygiene include revision of: orientation, training processes, competency assessments, equipment cleaning, handwashing procedures, switching to the use of single-use IV flush vials, adding strategically located waterless hand rubs, defining supervisory expectations, conducting in-services, team trainings, and tracking systems (Infection control related sentinel events, 2003). Potential solutions to noncompliance include: consistent skin protectant application, reduced time required for handwashing, and antiseptic stations at the bedside and room entry points (Boyce, 1999). Hospital administrators must create an organizational atmosphere in which adherence to recommended HH practices are considered an integral part of providing high-quality care (Boyce, 1999). Improvement in infection control

One the main roles healthcare workers (HCWs) can do is to provide patients with a safe environment whilst they are in the healthcare setting. In providing clinical safety to patients HCWs are ensuring that the patient will be safe from preventable adverse events occurring to them whilst they are in the hospital setting. Patient safety should be a of high priority to the healthcare setting and HCWs. Nursing staff are the main providers of care to patients whilst in the healthcare setting and have many responsibilities in delivering safe patient care. Whilst in the healthcare setting patients are vulnerable and at the hand of healthcare workers, thus it is extremely important for healthcare workers to maintain hand hygiene. To maintain a

Hospital acquired infections are responsible for more than 90,000 death in the United States (Fox, 2015). Some of these infections include catheter-associated urinary tract infection, central-line associated bloodstream, and ventilator-associated pneumonia. These infections mostly affect those patients with an already compromised immune system (Fox, 2015). Therefore, it is the healthcare provider’s responsibility as well as the patients to prevent spreading of these infections by taking the necessary steps like performing hand hygiene. In a study performed by Fox (2015), nurses taking care of patients in the intensive care unit were asked to wipe the patient’s hands with a 2% chlorhexidine gluconate disinfectant wipe. This product provides

Healthcare acquired/associated infections (HAIs) are caused by viral, bacterial, and fungal pathogens. These are infections we can get while we are receiving medical treatment in a healthcare facility. These infections can be serious, but are also very preventable. The most common HAIs are central line-associated bloodstream infections, nosocomial pneumonia, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, and surgical site infections. The most frequent mode of transmission of hospital-acquired infections is by direct contact. These infections are very serious and can possibly lead to death, so prevention of these infections are extremely vital. This is why hand washing, wearing gowns, and practicing sterile techniques is so important

Healthcare associated infections have an impact on patients - how? Can be prevented greatly with compliance to hand hygiene protocols (REF).

Ethical Considerations within Hand Washing Handwashing is one of the most important preventive measures when it comes to infection control and all healthcare professionals including nurses should have an ethical obligation to abide to proper hand hygiene. A study conducted by CUPE has exhibited that around 8,500-12,000 deaths in Canada per annum are attributed to healthcare associated infections (HCAI). HCAI usually develop as an outcome of the exposure to procedures and facilities of healthcare. If one needs to establish the simplest yet important nursing practice that helps in tremendous control and reduction in the contamination and infection spread, it would certainly be the maintenance of proper hand hygiene (Pratt, 2007). The various preventive practices that focus on interrupting the transmission

Hand hygiene is the most effective way of preventing the spread of infections. Most hospital-acquired infections are spread via the hands of the healthcare workers. According to the CDC, about 2 million or 1:20 patients are infected with a hospital acquired infection. Hand washing includes washing hands with warm water and soap or antiseptic hand sanitizers. (book, 540) Programs have be developed to observe the nurses, doctors, and other NICU workers to see if they were following the current hand hygiene guidelines. In this program faculty was observed for a baseline assessment then given a questionnaire asking the employees what they knew about hang hygiene. The assessment was monitored by nurses that were trained in hand hygiene and observation

Recent studies show that at any time, over 1.4 million people worldwide suffer from hospital-acquired infections (Public Health Ontario). In Canada alone, approximately 250 000 patients every year contract infectious micro-organisms from their healthcare providers (Nagel 18). At London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) we take pride in providing world class care in a safe, comfortable environment for patients. However, between 2008 and 2010 the LHSC still had between 20 and 30 per cent non-compliance to proper hand-washing protocol (Nagel 20). This data is very troubling considering it is following the launch of “Just Clean Your Hands” pilot project. As student nurses and volunteers of the LHSC team we are equally responsible to increase hand-washing compliance.

Why is proper hand washing in a hospital setting vital to a patient’s health? Hospitals all across America are cracking down on employees washing their hands before and after leaving a patients room. Patients are coming in for a simple procedure and staying longer due to the fact of catching something while in the hospital. Three of the major infections patients are catching are c-Diff (clostridium Difficile), MRSA (Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus), and Norovirus. “ If employees followed the guidelines by CDC (Center for Disease Control) and their employer infections can be reduce by up to one- third” ( Creedon 208-209).

One recommendation for the healthcare setting is to invest in a hand hygiene reminder system. In this system, the employee would wear a lighted badge that senses when hand hygiene was completed, reminds with a sound when they forget and reports if they are noncompliant (O’Reilly, Kevin B.). Without proper hand hygiene and infection control, patients can get infections that could have previously been avoided (“Compliance: Two Hands at a Time”). These are called hospital-acquired infections, or healthcare-associated infections (HAI’s), and can lead to death, especially in hospitalized patients whose health is already compromised (“Forget to wash? Devices track hand washing adherence in hospitals”). Patient safety is a priority. HAI’s are prevented and safety is maintained by incorporating this hand hygiene reminder system into the infection control practices at Park Nicollet’s Methodist Hospital. This recommendation pertains to people such as nurses and doctors who provide direct patient care and also to the leaders of Park Nicollet who make the executive decisions. As an infection control nurse, I provide evidence of why this is important for the healthcare team. The role of the audience is to make a decision about whether this is something the hospital needs and support in the decision that is made. This report studies how the hand hygiene reminder systems work, how the advantages

Handrubbing with an alcohol-based handrub or handwashing with soap and water aimed at reducing or inhibiting the growth of micro-organisms on hands is referred to as hand hygiene.1 It has been known for several decades that hand hygiene is a very simple and effective measure for preventing healthcare associated infections (HCAIs)2-6 but compliance with recommended standards for hand hygiene among healthcare workers (HCWs) has not been satisfactory.7 In order to improve compliance with hand hygiene as well as provide a solid basis to understand, teach, monitor and report hand hygiene practice, the World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with some patient safety and infection control experts developed a concept