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The Importance Of Prevention And Improvement Interventions

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There are numerous current prevention and improvement initiatives taking place in the health care system to reduce the occurrence of catheter associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs). Some of the most prominent interventions are to decrease the number of catheters being inserted and removing the catheters as quickly as possible. Stamford Hospital located in Connecticut, USA, implemented a CAUTI reduction project after noticing that education-based approaches and handwashing efforts had not decreased the incidence of CAUTIs. They implemented a nurse’s checklist for the justified use of catheters and timely removal of urinary catheters. They also added a specific catheter charting module in the electronic health record, and held biweekly …show more content…

In the past, Foley catheters remained in place, and the need to continue them was not addressed on a daily basis. But, with education and research this has changed. Education sessions offered in hospital settings and huddles, for example, are perfect opportunities for the nurses to identify patients with a Foley catheter on the unit and review strategies for decreasing infections (Clayton, 2017). Knowing when catheters are being useful and when they are becoming an issue and causing a problem is the key to identifying CAUTI’s. Preventing CAUTI’s begins with avoiding unnecessary use of urinary catheters, developing policies for insertion and maintenance of catheters, selecting the appropriate catheter, and instituting surveillance of CAUTIs and catheter use. Protocols to eliminate CAUTI’s will decrease their incidence and ensure better quality care (Clayton, 2017). This research found that out of 517 hospitals, 56% of them did not have a system to keep track of catheterized patients (Clayton, 2017). It was also found that 74% of the hospitals did not keep proper records of how long an indwelling catheter has been in a patient (Clayton, 2017). These flawed systems can be costly to patient safety and quality of care.
Improper education for health care workers is dangerous for patient care. The next study focused on working with educators to make sure nurses were properly educated on the proper care of urinary

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