Compliance To Hand Washing Measures

Table of Contents

Capstone Project Topic Selection and Approval NameInstitutionInstructorCourseDate Capstone Project Topic Selection and Approval The evidence-based practice proposal topic for the capstone project involves how compliance with hand washing measures helps in improving patient safety by decreasing healthcare associated infections as compared to non-compliance with hand washing measures (Chavali, Menon, & Shukla, 2014). Hand washing is one of the important aspects in healthcare since this prevents the spread of certain infections in a healthcare facility. Complying to hand hygiene has been indicated to be an effective infection control measure (Chavali, Menon, & Shukla, 2014). However, with the benefits associated with hand hygiene, a majority of the hospital staff have not complied with this intervention. Healthcare infections attributed to non-compliance with hand washing measures have continued to increase in healthcare organizations, which require immediate action to be taken to address this issue (Chavali, Menon, & Shukla, 2014). The World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control have provided important guidelines on hand washing to increase its adoption in many healthcare facilities (Zhao, Yang, Huang, & Chen, 2018). The setting in which non-compliance to hand washing can be observed include the lack of proper enacted standards to ensure that all healthcare staff comply with these requirements (Zhao et al., 2018). It is important to have adequate guidelines to constantly remind healthcare staff on the benefits of complying to hand washing measures. This is also contributed by the lack of training programs on hand washing measures and the benefits of this to healthcare staff as well as to the patients (Zhao et al., 2018). Another factor, which contributes to non-compliance with hand washing measures include lack of the required materials that are used in hand washing. Without adequate supply of these materials it is becomes difficult to comply with hand washing measures (Sadule-Rios & Aguilera, 2017).These resources also enable healthcare administrators to monitor hand washing as well as collect feedback on this aspect. This is beneficial in helping them to implement measures that are more effective and make improvements on specific areas, which require adjustments (Sadule-Rios & Aguilera, 2017). Hand hygiene is important since it plays a big role in preventing the spreading germs, which may be resistant to antibiotics resulting in more serious health issues (Sadule-Rios & Aguilera, 2017). Research has also indicated 1 in every 25 healthcare facilities to have a healthcare associated infection which is attributed to non compliance with hand washing measures (Iqbal, Zaman, & Azam, 2018). Since this is something, which can be addressed, it is important for effective measures to be implemented to ensure that healthcare staff adhere to the stated standards related to hand washing measures (Iqbal, Zaman, & Azam, 2018). Non-compliance with hand washing measures has a negative impact on the working environment as this affects the quality of care provided by the healthcare staff. This aspect is meant to minimize the spreading of disease-causing germs to admitted patients in a healthcare facility as well as to other healthcare staff (Longuenesse et al., 2017). If healthcare workers do not adhere to these measures, patient outcomes will be affected since admitted patients may acquire certain infections, which may worsen their conditions (Longuenesse et al., 2017). One of the main goals of healthcare facilities is preventing the development of diseases through patient education and the implementation of specific measures, which are meant to control the spreading of infections. One of these strategies is ensuring that everyone complies with hand washing measures (Longuenesse et al., 2017). Non-compliance with hand washing measures increases the risk of getting an infection in the process of administering healthcare services (Sickbert-Bennett et al 2016). This may result in increased treatment costs in addressing some of the infections, which could have been addressed if proper actions were implemented (Sickbert-Bennett et al 2016). This may also contribute to increased mortality rates, which are poor patient outcomes. This issue has a major significance to nursing since it impacts the costs of administering healthcare services as well as affecting patient outcomes (Lawal et al., 2018). The main goals of nursing are to prevent the development of diseases as well as improve the health status of patients. However, if healthcare staff does not comply with hand washing measures, these objectives will not be achieved due to the negative effects associated with non-compliance with hand washing measures (Lawal et al., 2018). This makes it a requirement for nurses to adhere to the implemented hand washing measures, which will be beneficial in achieving some of the healthcare goals (Bittner et al 2017). A solution to address non-compliance with hand washing measures includes more campaigns to help healthcare staff to understand the importance of compliance with hand washing measures (Bittner et al 2017). This is because some of the workers may be unaware of the impact of this aspect in achieving healthcare goals. These campaigns may involve placing alcohol-based hand wash besides patients, which are also complemented by posters, which entail the benefits of hand washing (Oliveira & Pinto, 2018). Healthcare finances can also be set aside to provide the required materials, which are meant to ensure that healthcare workers comply with hand washing measures. This may include the provision of adequate water, soap, and alcohol-based agents, which is important in ensuring that healthcare workers wash their hands thoroughly (Oliveira & Pinto, 2018).ReferencesBittner, M. J., Routh, J. M., Folchert, M. D., Woessner, N. E., Kennedy, S. J., & Parks, C. C. (2017). Hand Hygiene Among Health Care Workers: Is Educating Patients and Families a Feasible Way to Increase Rates? WMJ: Official Publication of the State Medical Society of Wisconsin, 116(2), 79–83.Chavali, S., Menon, V., & Shukla, U. (2014). Hand hygiene compliance among healthcare workers in an accredited tertiary care hospital. Indian journal of critical care medicine: peer-reviewed, official publication of Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine, 18(10), 689-693.Iqbal, M., Zaman, M., & Azam, N. (2018). Knowledge and Perception of Hand Hygiene among Health Care Workers of a Tertiary Care Military Hospital: A Descriptive Study. Pakistan Armed Forces Medical Journal, 68(5), 1372–1377.Lawal, T., Monsudi, K., Zubayr, B., Michael, G., Duru, C., Ibrahim, Z., & Aliyu, I. (2018). Hand hygiene practices among nurses in health facility in a semi-urban setting. International Journal of Health & Allied Sciences, 7(3), 191–195.Longuenesse, C., Lepelletier, D., Dessomme, B., Le Hir, F., & Bernier, C. (2017). Hand dermatitis: hand hygiene consequences among healthcare workers. Contact Dermatitis, 77(5), 330–331.Oliveira, A. C., & Pinto, S. A. (2018). Patient participation in hand hygiene among health professionals. Revista Brasileira De Enfermagem, 71(2), 259–264.Sadule-Rios, N., & Aguilera, G. (2017). Nurses’ perceptions of reasons for persistent low rates in hand hygiene compliance. Intensive & Critical Care Nursing, 42, 17–21.Sickbert-Bennett, E. E., DiBiase, L. M., Willis, T. M. S., Wolak, E. S., Weber, D. J., & Rutala, W. A. (2016). Reduction of Healthcare-Associated Infections by Exceeding High Compliance with Hand Hygiene Practices. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 22(9), 1628–1630.Zhao, Q., Yang, M. M., Huang, Y.-Y., & Chen, W. (2018). How to make hand hygiene interventions more attractive to nurses: A discrete choice experiment. PLoS ONE, 13(8), 1–11.