Capstone Project Change Proposal in Healthcare Provider

Capstone Project Change Proposal
Student Name
Institutional Affiliation
Capstone Project Change Proposal
1 Background
Nurses are the majority of healthcare providers in the world. Since nurses provide primary care to patients, they are capable of transmitting different types of microorganisms through their hands. As nurses lift, take a pulse, measure oral temperature and other activities involving touching the patients, they can transmit Health Care-Associated Infections (HCAIs) (Awoke et al., 2018). The hand can act as a reservoir and a vehicle for transmitting microorganisms from one patient to another. Indirect contact with products and equipment can also be a channel for transmitting infections. HCAIs have adverse effects on patients since they increase in disability, mortality, stay in the hospital, and costs for the patients. Hence, the removal of microorganisms from hands can be achieved by proper hand hygiene.
2 Problem statement
Hand washing refers to the rubbing together of the surfaces of and crevices using soap and water. It should be done when a nurse arrives at work, before leaving work, after contacting clients, before undertaking invasive procedures and handling contaminated equipment among others. Despite the need to prevent the transmission of infections, hand washing has been challenging for the nurses. For instance, in the emergency department (ED), the procedures are often risky and invasive (Liang, Theodoro, Schuur & & Marschall, 2014). At the same time, there is often limited time to evaluate the possibility of patients being susceptible to transferring infections. Poor hand hygiene compliance remains one of the leading contributory factors to HCAIs. It not only poses a threat to the patients but also to the nurses. In most cases, information about handwashing is communicated orally with the management emphasizing on standard precaution procedures. Nurses do not get the opportunity to undergo proper handwashing training to enhance their skills. Hence, their ability to prevent HCAIs through hand hygiene is diminished.
3 Purpose of the change proposal
The purpose of this study is to reduce/prevent the number of HCAIs incidents in healthcare facilities. About one in every 20 hospital patients will develop HCAIs and each day 270 people die from these kinds of infections (Haque, Sartelli, McKimm & Bakar, 2018). Due to the danger posed by HCAIs, this study seeks to assess nurses’ practice of hand hygiene and identify how nursing education can improve patient outcomes. The study appreciates that with proper education, nurses can learn how to practice handwashing.
4 PICOT Statement
Population-Infections among hospitalized patients and their effects
Intervention- Nurses will be educated on the importance of hand hygiene before and after handling patients.
Comparison- Healthcare facilities that ensure proper handwashing practices versus those that do not follow the practice.
Outcome- Decrease in HCAIs
Time-The outcome of the intervention will be measured within an interval of six months.
The PICOT statement for the study is: In hospitalized patients, will quarterly handwashing education instead of word of mouth encouragement and standard precautions decre...