Enhancing Quality and Safety in Nursing: Preventing Healthcare-Associated Infections, Study notes of Nursing

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Running Head: ENHANCING QUALITY AND

SAFETY

Enhancing Quality and Safety

Enhancing Quality and Safety The US Bureau of Labor Statistics website ranks the nursing profession as one of the fastest growing occupations in the world. Part of the reason why nursing is ranked highly emanates from the ability of nurses to provide quality patient care, while at the same time minimize any existing risks for diseases (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d.). Baccalaureate prepared nurses are equipped with knowledge and skills to identify specific patient risks and integrate evidence-based interventions that seek to improve the safety of patients. A patient risk contributing to poor health outcomes that this paper will discuss is healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), commonly known as nosocomial or hospital infections. The World Health Organization describes HAIs as those infections that develop during the process of care in a health facility and were not present at admission (Storr, Twyman, Zingg, Damani, Kilpatrick & Allegranzi, 2017). HAIs affect hundreds of millions of patients around the world. Elements of a Successful Quality Improvement Initiative Quality improvement is the systematic approach by members to analyze their performances and put in place elaborate measures. Nurses must evaluate the existing approaches towards preventing healthcare-associated infections and determine whether or not there is a need for change. There are four elements of a successful quality improvement program. These include an in-depth comprehension of the problem, determination of the quality improvement goal (based on a return on investment as well as analysis of the cost involved), aim and the measures. Factors Contributing to HAIs A myriad of factors predisposes inpatients to healthcare-associated infections. The factors can broadly be classified into three-healthcare associated factors, environmental factors and patient-related factors (Al-Tawfiq & Tambyah, 2014). Infections related to the use of invasive

The bundle approach is based on the assumption that some interventions will be effective while others will not. The providers of care must be keen to select the approaches that they deem appropriate depending on the available resources and type of patient care settings. Role of Nurses in Coordinating Care to Enhance Quality and Reduce Costs Nurses spend most of their active hours with patients and will use all means available to them to improve the safety of their patients. The nurses prevent their patients from developing HAIs not just by applying evidence-based practices but also through patient education and nursing research (The Nurse' s Role in Preventing Hospital-Acquired Infections, n.d.). The interventions that nurses select in preventing HAIs should be cost-effective to the organization and preferred to the patients themselves. Most of the interventions are obtained from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), hence nurses must understand how they can be applied in patient care. There are numerous ways that nurses can prevent HAIs in their respective areas of work. Common approaches involve effective hand washing with antimicrobial soap and water, frequent oral care, and using full barrier precautions (Salem, 2019). Nurses should take a leading role in creating a safe environment for the recovery of patients. The stakeholders with whom nurses would need to coordinate to drive quality and safety enhancements are all the providers of care at the facility. They include other nurses, administrators, physicians, nutritionists, physiotherapists, pharmacists, and support staff. Each of these stakeholders can play an integral role in preventing healthcare-associated infections among patients. Conclusion The provision of quality care to minimize risks for diseases calls for the collaboration of all the stakeholders involved. Patients are usually optimistic that they will spend the shortest time

in health institutions when they are taken ill. This paper has highlighted the need for nurses to adopt the best approaches in preventing healthcare-associated infections which derail the recovery process. These nosocomial infections not only cause prolonged hospital stay but has also been associated with significant morbidity and mortality across the world.