Developing an Intervention and Determining its Impact
Infections acquired by patients in the healthcare setting are a major issue affecting the US healthcare system. Pathogens are transferred to patients in the majority of cases of healthcare-acquired infections. As a result, limiting pathogen transfer is an important intervention for reducing infections. The following is a handwashing intervention for nurses that can help to reduce germ transmission to patients and, thus, infection acquisition.
The Intervention’s Outline
A handwashing education program for nurses is the proposed intervention for healthcare-acquired infections. Nurses play an important role in the care continuum. There are numerous occasions when nurses come into contact with patients while administering care. Pathogens can be transferred from one patient to another or from the general healthcare environment to a patient during the patient care process. As a result, this intervention includes an education program that teaches nurses important information about handwashing so that they can sterilize patients more effectively. Many nurses’ education programs have already been implemented in a significant number of healthcare institutions, but some cases of infection have been reported. As a result, this education program will be modified to include factors that will increase its effectiveness in improving nurses’ hygiene.
First, a six-month education program will be implemented. It is expected that nurses who receive extensive training will achieve better results by increasing their ability to retain the lessons learned during training. Furthermore, rather than spreading handwashing knowledge, this training program will emphasize compliance. This component of the intervention training is based on the assumption that the nurses are already familiar with hand hygiene and hand washing techniques. Hand hygiene is an important part of nursing and other medical professions training. Medical professionals are frequently taught the importance of maintaining sterility when dealing with patients in order to minimize pathogen transfer. Despite this training, a significant number of healthcare professionals fail to maintain the required handwashing standards. As a result, the primary goal of this handwashing training program will be to teach nurses how to comply with handwashing standards. The training will be delivered in a practical setting rather than a theoretical model, making it easier to identify and correct mistakes made by nurses during the handwashing process.
Literature Review in Support of Intervention
There is a wealth of literature on the impact of training healthcare professionals in handwashing hygiene on the spread of infections in the healthcare setting. According to Al-Khawaldeh et al. (2015), nurses’ handwashing compliance beliefs, attitudes, and knowledge have a direct impact on their hand sanitation practices. This conclusion was reached after conducting a cross-sectional study with nursing students as subjects. The study discovered that nurses’ compliance with handwashing guidelines was influenced by their knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about hand sanitation. As a result, this study recommended that training be used as a technique to promote handwashing knowledge and positive sanitation beliefs and attitudes among nurses.
Sopjani, Jahn, and Behrens (2017) investigated the impact of handwashing training on the knowledge and practices of Kosovo undergraduate nurses. This study compared the knowledge levels of participants before and after they completed a hand hygiene education program in a healthcare setting. The study’s findings revealed a significant difference in the nurses’ knowledge levels before and after the training. The subjects were more likely to understand the importance and techniques of maintaining sanitation in the healthcare setting after the training. According to the study, training can help nurses maintain a satisfactory level of knowledge, which will improve their hygiene practices.
Many studies have shown that training nurses on handwashing is effective. However, some researchers have questioned the intervention’s long-term viability; germ transfer remains an issue despite numerous training programs. Doronina et al. (2017) investigated the efficacy of interventions used to improve handwashing compliance among nurses working in healthcare facilities. In this case, the researchers conducted a systematic review of six studies evaluating various types of interventions used to promote hand hygiene in healthcare institutions. Three of the studies examined were randomized control trials; one was a controlled before-and-after study, and one was an interrupted time series. The impact of education as an intervention technique to promote hygiene was found to be effective in studies that evaluated its impact. However, according to this meta-analysis, education was effective but not sustainable because most healthcare professionals failed to maintain compliance for a long time after the intervention.
Gould et al. (2017) investigated the impact of practicing hand hygiene in the clinical setting. Instead of simply teaching nurses how to keep their hands clean, this study looked at the impact of actually watching the nurses’ hygiene behaviors while they practiced. This study looked at the impact of the Hawthorne effect, which is when people change their behavior because they realize they are being watched. This study suggests that the majority of positive results of positive interventions in studies of the effectiveness of handwashing interventions were influenced by this effect. As a result, the study suggests that researchers investigate the efficacy of interventions for an extended period of time after the intervention has been administered. This helps to account for the subjects’ practices after the Hawthorne effect is no longer present. According to Gould et al. (2017), having an intervention based on the practice setting for an extended period of time gives a better chance of determining the actual effect of the intervention.
A meta-analysis was conducted by Luangasanatip et al. (2015) to compare the efficacy of various hand hygiene interventions for nurses. This study assessed 41 different types of research on hand hygiene intervention. Time was discovered to be one of the variables that affect the effectiveness of these interventions, among other things. The interventions that were implemented over a longer period of time were more likely to produce positive results. As a result, this study shows that implementing an education program over a longer period of time is more likely to have a greater impact on improved hand sanitation among nurses.
The Intervention’s Effect
The proposed nurses’ education program is expected to have a positive impact on nurses’ care delivery practices. The nurses who will receive this intervention will be trained for six months on hand washing knowledge and compliance while their methods are observed to identify potential limitations that reduce sanitation in the healthcare environment. It is expected that by the end of the training, the nurses will have learned how to apply hygiene standards in their daily practices rather than just for the study. Despite the fact that both components are included, this intervention focuses on compliance rather than knowledge. The emphasis on compliance will contribute to the intervention’s long-term viability. Because the intervention requires them to practice for six months, the nurses are expected to maintain the changes brought about by the training for an extended period of time.
The nurses’ behavior change is expected to have a positive impact on lowering the risk of healthcare-acquired infections. With more hygienic nurses, there will be less transmission of disease-causing pathogens, which cause life-threatening infections that are currently a public health issue. Patients in the process of receiving care will have a better chance of achieving positive outcomes due to the lower risk of infection from germs present in the healthcare environment. In general, the effectiveness of this intervention strategy will contribute to an overall improvement in the quality of care.
Conclusion
One of the top ten population health issues affecting the United States is healthcare-acquired infections. The majority of infections in the healthcare setting are caused by avoidable problems. Nurses are the medical personnel who spend the most time with patients. As a result, they are at high risk of transferring pathogens to the patients in their care. As a result, training for hand hygiene compliance is recommended as the most effective strategy for reducing the occurrence of infections. Improved education on hand hygiene has been shown in studies to be an excellent strategy for improving nurses’ practices. However, maintaining compliance over an extended period of time remains a challenge. This intervention aims to address this issue in order to improve the effectiveness of training programs.
References
Al-Khawaldeh, O. A., Al-Hussami, M., & Darawad, M. (2015). Influence of nursing students handwashing knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes on their handwashing compliance. Health, 7(05), 572.
Doronina, O., Jones, D., Martello, M., Biron, A., & Lavoie‐Tremblay, M. (2017). A systematic review of the effectiveness of interventions to improve hand hygiene compliance of nurses in the hospital setting. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 49(2), 143-152.
Gould, D. J., Creedon, S., Jeanes, A., Drey, N. S., Chudleigh, J., & Moralejo, D. (2017). Impact of observing hand hygiene in practice and research: a methodological reconsideration. Journal of Hospital Infection, 95(2), 169-174.
Luangasanatip, N., Hongsuwan, M., Limmathurotsakul, D., Lubell, Y., Lee, A. S., Harbarth, S., … & Cooper, B. S. (2015). Comparative efficacy of interventions to promote hand hygiene in hospital: a systematic review and network meta-analysis. BMJ, 351, h3728.
Sopjani, I., Jahn, P., & Behrens, J. (2017). Hand Hygiene Training and Its Impact on the Knowledge of Undergraduate Nursing Students in Kosovo. Global Journal of Health Science, 9(4), 142.
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Question 
Assignment 3: Developing an Intervention and Determining the Impact
Sections 3 and 4 of Major Assessment 7: Using an Epidemiological Approach to Critically Analyze a Population Health Problem
Measures of effect are especially important for quantifying health problems. As a DNP-prepared nurse engaged in advanced practice, understanding how to interpret the statistical data in research studies enables you to better present your own findings as well as to determine appropriate interventions based on the data.
Developing an Intervention and Determining Its Impact
This week, you will begin Assignment 3, Sections 3 and 4 of the Major Assessment 7 paper. For Section 3, you will outline an intervention for your population to address the health problem based on the research literature. As you review the literature, it is essential to critically evaluate each study, including the statistical analysis and outcomes. To further enhance your analysis, select a causal model that applies to your selected population health problem and consider it in terms of measurement of effect. Utilize this model as you continue to evaluate the literature that supports your proposed intervention (Section 3 of your paper).
Review the Major Assessment Overview. Then, begin developing Section 3 and Section 4, which are due by Day 7 of Week 8:
To complete:
In 5 pages, write the following sections of your paper:
Section 3: The Intervention
· An outline of an intervention you would implement to address the population health problem with your selected population based on the results of the study in Section 2 (Note: If you selected a descriptive study design, you are still required to outline an intervention that might be developed based on future research.)
· A review of the literature that supports this intervention
Section 4: The Impact
· An explanation of the health outcome you would be seeking and the social impact of solving this issue
Cite at least 7 sources
Week in Review
This week, you analyzed how epidemiologic data is used to argue for or against screening programs and how this data can be used to formulate policy for improving population health. You also developed an evaluation plan for a health intervention.
Next week, you will explore the investigative process epidemiologists use to examine infectious diseases.
Forward Thinking
Your Final Paper is due by Day 3 of Week 11 and should incorporate the feedback you have received from your Instructor.