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Introduction
Infections acquired in a hospital or acute care setting related to the patient's original
ailment are known as nosocomial infections. Because of the link between healthcare quality and
nosocomial infection, infection control measures are now widely applied in every healthcare
facility (Collins, 2008). Since these facilities are responsible for guaranteeing people's health and
well-being, it is critical to successfully prevent the spread of infection that can be acquired in a
hospital setting. Hand hygiene is intended to reduce the risk of hospital-acquired infections
(Monegro et al., 2020). The hand hygiene of patients is just as vital as the hand hygiene of
healthcare staff. Hand washing should be done correctly to remove dangerous microorganisms
from the skin. Hand washing is the single most important and effective strategy to prevent and
manage cross-infection among healthcare workers. The purpose of this study is to identify the
most effective way of preventing nosocomial infection among Med surge adults over 65 years.
Project Question
For adults over 65 years, does the use of handwashing by nurses on the med surge floor reduce
the future risk of nosocomial infection compared to hand sanitizer?
Title of the Project
The title of the project is preventing nosocomial infection.
Project Beneficiaries
This project will benefit the health care workers since they will know and understand the
effective way of preventing nosocomial infections. Patients will benefit since the risk of
contracting nosocomial infections will reduce.
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Location of the target group
This review will be conducted elect any hospital in Las Vegas, Nevada, since the med surge floor
adults over 65 years are located there.
Project period
The project will take 12 weeks and thus will commence on 1st September to 31st October. The
project will take a period of three months that equals 12 weeks. Therefore, the first and thirdmonth control measures will be implemented using the standard hand washing techniques. In the
second month, the handwashing sanitizer was used to compare the infection rates using the
handwashing technique and hand sanitizer.
Budget requirements for the project
In this study, the main requirements are the handwashing products and hand sanitizers,
and of which most hospitals are well equipped. Therefore, significant expenses will be on
printing the questionnaire to be filled by the staff so as to determine whether they are satisfied
with the product. That is a minor expense, and hence can be settled using savings.
Reasons for this project
The reason for working on this project is because one prevention method of Covid-19 is hand
washing. Therefore, understanding which method is more efficient in preventing infections is
crucial.
What to achieve in this project
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This project aims to find the most efficient way of preventing nosocomial infections. As a result,
the main aim is to achieve a risk reduction of nosocomial infections.
Project implementation
To effectively conduct this study, a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods
will be used. Our research question is that a research study will be shown in the hospital ICU for
this review. Thirty nurses posted in the ICU will be involved in the study. Data collection will
be done over the three months of the test. Also, health practitioners will be required to fill out
some questionnaires so as to determine their level of satisfaction in using either of the test
products.
Project long term effect
The project's long-term effect is that geriatric patients will have a minimized risk of
contracting nosocomial infection.
Sustainability of the project
Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the sustainability of the project is uncertain since
most hospitals have impended restrictions on access to some hospital departments. Also, most
patients have ventured to home-based healthcare, where the majority receive medical services
from home due to the pandemic.
Project Risks
Among the risks identified are barriers to access some hospital departments and the
dangers of contracting COVID-19 since the healthcare practitioners also attend to COVID-19
patients, which is an airborne disease. The aim is to strictly follow and apply the COVID-19
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measures to minimize the risk. In case of barriers to access in a particular hospital department,
we will utilize another accessible department.
Project barriers
The primary barrier is a denial of access in the hospital. The team will have to research
the various hospitals available in Las Vegas and then make several requests.
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Literature review
In the prevention of nosocomial infections, several measures can be put into place. The
primary measure identified to minimize the infections is hand washing (Pittet & Allegranzi,
2019). Medical practitioners are expected to frequently wash their hands after attending to one
patient since most encounter body fluids that carry infections. In this study, I will look at
handwashing to prevent nosocomial infections compared to hand sanitizers.
According to Haque et al. (2020), the concept and importance of handwashing inpatient
care were first theorized in the early 19th century. He identifies proper hand hygiene to be the
least expensive method of minimizing the spread of infections. Farmani et al. (2019) added that
patients in the Intensive care Unit (ICU) are at a greater risk of having a nosocomial infection.
He argues that health practitioners are the common channel of transmitting the infections and
thus recommend the primary step to preventing the infections. In support of the importance of
handwashing Haque (2020) describe nosocomial infections as an indication of poor compliance
with handwashing hygiene. Unfortunately, most health practitioners are non-compliant with
handwashing procedures, thus increasing the rate of nosocomial infections (Haque et al., 2020).
Healthcare personnel should set examples for their patients by exercising regular hand washing
to help reduce the spread of nosocomial infections.
According to Kampiatu and Cozean (2015), hand washing is recommended by the United
States Centers for Disease Control (CDC), which should take 1-2 minutes. However, they argue
that most health practitioners take less than 15 seconds, even with the available alcohol-based
sanitizers. Kampiatu and Cozean (2015) argue that traditional alcohol-based sanitizers do not
provide continuous protection against infections. According to them, hand sanitizers evaporate
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and thus end the antimicrobial activity; hands can easily be contaminated once exposed to an
infected surface, leaving patients unprotected. For this reason, hand washing is more effective
compared to hand sanitizers. According to Haque et al. (2020), hand hygiene (HH) should be
embraced as an automatic behavior by patients and health care professionals. In most instances,
the authors proposed that the HealthCare workers risk distributing pathogenic microorganisms to
patients through their hands. To prevent this spread, effective handwashing with soap and water
was concluded as the best approach.
Conclusion
Nosocomial infections are amongst the common issues affecting healthcare setups.
However, by implementing effective hand washing techniques by both patients and hath care
professionals, the spread of the infections could be contained. Although hand sanitizers may be
necessary for eliminating pathological microorganisms, they are not as effective as handwashing.
Sanitizers evaporate at a higher rate creating more room for pathogens exposure. Therefore,
sanitizers should be used only for a limited time. Embracing proper handwashing procedures will
help in preventing the spread of infections at all costs.
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References
Collins, A. S. (2008). Preventing Health Care–Associated Infections. Patient Safety and Quality:
An Evidence-Based Handbook for Nurses.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2683/.
Farmani, Z., Kargar, M., Khademian, Z., Paydar, S., & Zare, N. (2019). The effect of training
and awareness of subtle control on the frequency of hand hygiene among intensive care
unit nurses. BMC Research Notes, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-019-4635-z
Haque,M.,MCkimm,J.,Sartelli,M.,Dhingra,S.,Labricciosa,F.M.,Islam,S.,Jahan,D…………&Char
an.,J.(2020). Strategies to Prevent Healthcare-Associated Infections: A Narrative
Overview. DovePress, 2020 (13), 1765-1780. https://doi.org/10.2147/RMHP.S269315
Kampiatu, P., & Cozean, J. (2015). A Controlled, Crossover Study of a Persistent Antiseptic to
Reduce Hospital-Acquired Infection. African Journal of Infectious Diseases, 9(1), 6–9.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4325352/
Monegro, A. F., Muppidi , V., & Regun, H. (2020). Hospital Acquired Infections. StatPearls
[Internet]. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK441857/.