Prevention Approaches for Hospital Acquired Infections Essay

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Introduction

Advances in medicine have resulted in the further enhancement of patient outcomes in healthcare settings. It is, however, important to note that the treatment of many patients in close proximity does have some downsides. Hospital acquired infections (HAIs) are one such downside. In basic terms, HAIs are inclusive of all the infections that were not part of the original diagnosis of the patient during his or her admission at the hospital. Research studies conducted in the past have clearly indicated that HAIs are a major health care concern for not only patients, but also healthcare providers. For this reason, the relevance of reigning in HAIs cannot be overstated. Indeed, as Gupta at al. (2014) point out, taking into consideration “morbidity, mortality, increased length of stay and the cost, efforts should be made to make hospitals as safe as possible by preventing such infections” (150).

Discussion

In seeking to further conceptualize the HAI concern with an aim of recommending the relevant interventions, it would be prudent to offer a more precise definition of HAIs. The World Health Organization – WHO (2002), defines a hospital acquired infection or nosocomial infection as “an infection occurring in a patient in a hospital or other health care facility in whom the infection was not present or incubating at the time of admission” (1). In essence, HAIs could be triggered by micro-organisms including, but not limited to, parasites, fungi, viruses, and bacteria.

The primary focus of this undertaking will be inpatients receiving treatment for various conditions and illnesses. It is important to note that HAIs occur at a significant cost to both patients and the entire health care system. When it comes to their impact on patients, it should be noted that in addition to causing illnesses amongst patients and prolonging their stay in hospital, HAIs also result in extended recovery periods. On the other hand, as Schmier at al. (2016) point out, one of the most critical metrics in the evaluation of quality in hospitals are HAIs. In the words of the authors, “high scores (poor performance) can lead to penalties, such as those associated with the Hospital-Acquired Condition Reduction Program established by the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” (Schmier, 2016, p. 199). It therefore follows that the relevance of having in place measures aimed at minimizing instances of HAIs amongst patients in healthcare settings cannot be overstated.

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Some of the more common HAIs include catheter associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI), clostridium difficile infection (CDI), ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), and surgical site infection (SSI). Towards this end, any intervention measures seeking…

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…HAIs and, thus, reduced rates of mortality and morbidity as a consequence of nosocomial infections. The other likely outcome is the standardization of meaningful precautions likely to help in the reduction of infection transmission.

The proposed site for the conduction of the study would be ……………

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In the final analysis, one of the AACN DNP essentials that I would find challenging as I implement my project is scientific underpinnings for practice. This is more so the case when it comes to the utilization of scientific theories to highlight the relevant courses of action to alleviate the concerns identified herein, and thereafter assess the outcomes. I would be seeking to overcome this challenge by, amongst other things, consulting the various peer-reviewed articles that have been authored in the past regarding hospital acquired infections and the prevention mechanisms that have been shown to be effective.

Conclusion

It is important to note that in the past, healthcare institutions have reported rising rates of HAIs. These have a negative effect on patient outcomes. It is therefore clear that standard care procedures utilized in most of our health care institutions fall short of reducing or limiting the transmission of harmful micro-organisms. The proposed interventions in this case focus on infection prevention strategies particularly for HAIs. 

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