Infection Control Encompasses Strategies †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Infection Control Encompasses Strategies. Answer: Introduction Infection control and prevention with the use of chlorhexidine washcloths The discipline of infection control often encompasses prevention and management of nosocomial and healthcare associated infections in healthcare facilities. This topic is of utmost importance to nurses as it forms the basis of delivery of healthcare services and works towards improving the overall health and wellbeing of all patients. Infection control is imperative for public health practice. Two major implications of this topic are associated with their effectiveness in controlling an epidemic outbreak, and preventing an infection spread by recognising all underlying factors and routes of exposure to communicable diseases (Tacconelli et al. 2014). Nurses are placed at an unique position for bringing about changes that help them to improve care standards. There are several tools made available to nurses for creating a safe environment for their patients. Thenursing duty requires them to adapt certain precautions that form the cornerstone of a safe health-based environment that is free of infection. Thus, infection control and prevention is a major duty ofnursing practice. This research activity will enable nurses to understand the significance of maintaining appropriate infection control practices in the healthcare setting. Reasons for undertaking research Preventing or controlling the spread of pathogens, such as, viruses and bacteria is the primary duty of nurses. Thus, the research activity is essential for maintaining a safe healthcare environment for all healthcare professionals, patients, and their family members. Most disabled and ill people are cared for in confined spaces. This makes them more susceptible to acquiring all forms of HAIs (Rosenthal et al. 2013). Thus, the research will increase an awareness on thenursing standards needed to control infection and will also help in determining effectiveness of the intervention (use of chlorhexidine washcloths) for the same. Research question/hypothesis Question: Does chlorhexidine bathing reduce rates of hospital acquired infections among patients? Hypothesis: Using chlorhexidine washcloths on patients admitted to the ICU will help in reducing rates of infection in the hospital setting. In recent years, several efforts have been taken to increase the awareness and knowledge of healthcare professionals for eliminating potential mortality and morbidity associated with hospital acquired infections (HAIs). In addition, several countries have taken rigid stance for averting such infections. According to the researches that have been conducted on determining impact of chlorhexidine bathing washcloths, CHG has been found to reduce rates of central line associated infections, UTI, ventilator-associated pneumonia, and SSI. Trials that compared rates of infection, before and after use of CHG washcloths have shown significant lowering in the infection rates after CHG institution (Krein et al. 2012). Furthermore, evidences have also indicated that CHG results in a decrease in vancomycin resistant Enterococci. Primary BSI rates of infection have also demonstrated significant reduction with the use of CHG (CDC 2012). Nursing Interventions: The intervention would be that the nurse should bath all patients admitted to the ICU with the use of 2% CHG washcloths, in place of regular soap and water. Client perceptions: Studies have shown nurses who adopt appropriate infection control techniques are better able to prevent spread of infections in the ICU from patients to their family members or healthcare professionals. In addition to hand hygiene maintenance, use of CHG has also been established effective in reducing spread of nosocomial infections in healthcare settings. Thus, use of this intervention will also make the clients or patients learn and understand that the concerned healthcare professionals are taking all possible efforts to improve their health outcomes. Political Issues: Increased healthcare costs, lack ofnursing staff, turnover rates Research objective The objective of this research activity is to evaluate or investigate the effectiveness or positive impacts of bathing critically ill patients using 2% chlorhexidine impregnated washcloths in preventing the incidence of hospital-acquired infections. Other discipline Patient safety discipline can also be correlated with the research activity as it illustrates that safeguarding patients is of utmost importance and can be achieved by adopting essential prevention strategies that help in lowering rates of medical errors. Hence, patient safety eliminates adverse health outcomes. Hence, in addition to assisting the nursing discipline, the research activity will also enhance patient safety arena. Sources of data and evidence Cochrane Library- https://www.cochranelibrary.com/ PubMed- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/ The aforementioned two sources were used to retrieve articles for the research activity as it contained relevant and current articles that had been published on the effects of chlorhexidine washcloth use in infection prevention. Search strategy Recent and relevant findings were extracted from google scholar with regards to CHG use as an infection control practice. The research question was kept comprehensive and specific. Data extraction contained use of several search terms that helped in retrieving relevant articles. The search terms were hygiene, infection control, hospital infection, infection prevention, chlorhexidine, nosocomial, washcloth. Boolean operators such as, OR, AND, and NOT were used. This helped in excluding unpublished or irrelevant articles. Systematic approach Statement of objective: Use of 2% chlorhexidine gluconate impregnated washcloths by nurses, for patients admitted to intensive care units will effectively reduce rates of nosocomial infection in the healthcare setting. Data collection: Peer reviewed articles, systematic reviews were used for collecting relevant, updated and recent research articles that had been conducted for determining effectiveness of daily 2% chlorhexidine gluconate baths. The first piece of research collected is a randomised controlled trial. Another cohort study has also been collected as a major piece of evidence. Data evaluation: The first piece of research to be evaluated is an RCT that discussed effects of daily CHG bathing on MDRO acquisition and incidence of bloodstream infections in a hospital. The RCT was an useful piece of evidence as it helped in determining the direct impacts of CHG washcloth bathing on patients, thereby showing their effects on HAI rates. It also demonstrated significant effects of the intervention on rates of associated VRE and MRSA in the healthcare setting (Climo et al. 2013). The cohort study was also useful in the sense that it directly evaluated effects of chlorhexidine patient bathing conducted across a hospital on rates of healthcare-associated infections. The information from the article can be used for the research activity as, in addition to effects of the intervention on infection rates, it also demonstrated CHG tolerance among patients (Rupp et al. 2012). A systematic review was also considered for the same that investigated effectiveness of daily CHG bathing in nosocomial infection prevention among ICU patients. Inclusion of this systematic review was a correct step for this research activity as it contained essential information pertaining to impact of CHG bathing from 12 quasi-experimental studies and 3 RCTs. It helped in providing relevant information on rates of urinary tract infection, catheter related infections and pneumonia (Huang et al. 2016). A before-and-after study was also used as a piece of evidence that described the direct impacts of 2% CHG impregnated washcloth use on VRE colonisation. Inclusion of the study was essential for the research activity as it contained exhaustive information on CHG administration upon patients admitted to the oncology and hematology ward and also determined the subsequent rates of VRE (Bass et al. 2013). Analysis: Overall, from the wide list of articles that were retrieved from the two sources, the aforementioned four articles were found to be most appropriate for gaining a sound understanding of the direct influence or impact of bathing ICU patients with washcloths that are impregnated with 2% chlorhexidine gluconate, in reducing infection rates. Distinction between relevant and irrelevant information The systematic review conducted for evaluating the effects of daily bathing of patients using chlorhexidine washcloths for preventing hospital-acquired infections. Due to the fact that such infections are found to increase hospitalisation rates, and associated healthcare costs, information presented in this systematic review was particularly useful and relevant in this context. In this nursing profession that considers nurses as the frontline of patient-centered care, dependency of patients on the nursing staff is increasing significantly. Thus, nurses often fail to provide the adequate level of care that is required for all patients. Therefore, this systematic review will act as a relevant piece of information and will help nursing professionals to increase their knowledge on best infection control practices. Prioritising information The two research articles are the following: Effect of daily chlorhexidine bathing on hospital-acquired infection. Effect of hospital-wide chlorhexidine patient bathing on healthcare-associated infections. Comparison The comparison for the two articles are given in the appendix. Conclusion Thus, it can be conclude from the research findings extracted for this activity that infection control nurses specialise in preventing or reducing spread of potentially infectious agents, such as, bacteria and viruses. Therefore, it is imperative to the duty of an infection control nurse to prevent dangerous epidemics. Some of the most common precautions adopted by healthcare professionals for infection control include hand washing techniques, use of sanitiser sprays, and proper bathing of the admitted patients. It can be concluded from the findings that infection control nurses are expected to use chlorhexidine washcloths while bathing their patients for preventing spread of germs to healthy individuals and for skin disinfection. Evidences suggest that chlorhexidine impregnated washcloths when used on the skin are able in reducing pathogen levels on the skin. Findings also suggest that CHG bathing effectively prevents pathogen colonisation and subsequent infection, thereby lowering rates of their dissemination to the environment and to the hands of other healthcare personnel, patients or family members. Similar findings are also reported by other studies that state that CHG is a safe and effective antiseptic solution that has broad acting antiseptic activity. Thus, novel uses of chlorhexidine impregnated cloths will effectively preventing infection. Therefore, providing nurses with the opportunity of possessing essential nursing skills that focus on infection control will help in enhancing patient health outcomes, thereby fostering a healthy nurse-patient relationship, increasing job satisfaction and staff retention. Impact of findings It is now considered an imperative nursing duty to maintain standard precautions that underpin routine adherence to safe nursing practices for preventing spread of pathogens in a healthcare facility. Nurses should assess the extent of contact with contaminated objects, body fluids, blood and pathogen, and should comply with essential infection control practices in the healthcare setting for identifying all patients who are at an increased likelihood of acquiring nosocomial infections. Showing accurate adherence to the nursing infection control strategies that includes use of CHG washcloths will help the nurses to interpret their concerns for the patients and the former will be able to better aniticipate the preferences and demands of the patients. This will directly improve patient health outcomes and enhance job satisfaction. Use of information in workplace The steps of using 2% CHG impregnated washcloths and their benefits can be disseminated in the workplace (healthcare setting) by creating illustrative posters or pamphlets that will contain relevant information on the same. It will improve knowledge and skills of the staff in the area of infection control and prevention, and will also provide a concise idea of the steps that need to be taken for limiting infection rates. Reflection One way that can be implemented in current practice is conduction of weekly meetings and discussions that will focus on informing all healthcare personnel of their infection control priorities and cleaning standards that must be followed in the healthcare organisation. It will make the healthcare professionals conscious and they will be able to meet the necessary health guidelines. All healthcare workers, in addition to the management will also gain a sound understanding of their responsibilities in relation to infection control. Issues that require further research and evaluation Further research should be conducted on determining effectiveness of skin wipes or washcloths that are impregnated with herbal extracts for preventing spread of pathogens. This will act as an essential step in preventing infection among home-bound patients or those living in regions with no access to CHG washcloths. References Bass, P., Karki, S., Rhodes, D., Gonelli, S., Land, G., Watson, K., Spelman, D., Harrington, G., Kennon, J. and Cheng, A.C., 2013. Impact of chlorhexidine-impregnated washcloths on reducing incidence of vancomycin-resistant enterococci colonization in hematologyoncology patients.American journal of infection control,41(4), pp.345-348. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention., 2012. Vital signs: preventing Clostridium difficile infections.MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report,61(9), p.157. Climo, M.W., Yokoe, D.S., Warren, D.K., Perl, T.M., Bolon, M., Herwaldt, L.A., Weinstein, R.A., Sepkowitz, K.A., Jernigan, J.A., Sanogo, K. and Wong, E.S., 2013. Effect of daily chlorhexidine bathing on hospital-acquired infection.New England Journal of Medicine,368(6), pp.533-542. Huang, H.P., Chen, B., Wang, H.Y. and He, M., 2016. The efficacy of daily chlorhexidine bathing for preventing healthcare-associated infections in adult intensive care units.The Korean journal of internal medicine,31(6), p.1159. Krein, S.L., Kowalski, C.P., Hofer, T.P. and Saint, S., 2012. Preventing hospital-acquired infections: a national survey of practices reported by US hospitals in 2005 and 2009.Journal of general internal medicine,27(7), pp.773-779. Rosenthal, V.D., Richtmann, R., Singh, S., Apisarnthanarak, A., Kbler, A., Viet-Hung, N., Ramrez-Wong, F.M., Portillo-Gallo, J.H., Toscani, J., Gikas, A. and Dueas, L., 2013. Surgical site infections, International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC) report, data summary of 30 countries, 20052010.Infection Control Hospital Epidemiology,34(6), pp.597-604. Rupp, M.E., Cavalieri, R.J., Lyden, E., Kucera, J., Martin, M., Fitzgerald, T., Tyner, K., Anderson, J.R. and VanSchooneveld, T.C., 2012. Effect of hospital-wide chlorhexidine patient bathing on healthcare-associated infections.Infection Control Hospital Epidemiology,33(11), pp.1094-1100. Tacconelli, E., Cataldo, M.A., Dancer, S.J., Angelis, G., Falcone, M., Frank, U., Kahlmeter, G., Pan, A., Petrosillo, N., Rodrguez?Bao, J. and Singh, N., 2014. ESCMID guidelines for the management of the infection control measures to reduce transmission of multidrug?resistant Gram?negative bacteria in hospitalized patients.Clinical Microbiology and Infection,20(s1), pp.1-55.