Introduction
Infection control is a crucial aspect of patient care in acute care settings, as hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) can increase morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. This paper aims to explore the effectiveness of infection control monitoring in reducing the incidence of HAIs during hospital stays (Thandar et al., 2021). The PICOT question is: In hospitalized patients in acute care settings, does infection control monitoring (compared to no monitoring or standard infection control practices without monitoring) reduce the incidence of hospital-acquired infections during the hospital stay? This issue is critical to nursing practice, as nurses play a key role in preventing and managing HAIs (Thandar et al., 2021). The articles for this paper were obtained through a search of the CINAHL database using the keywords “infection control,” “infection monitoring,” and “hospital-acquired infections.”
Description of Nursing Issue
The nursing topic being investigated is the effectiveness of infection control monitoring in lowering the incidence of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) in hospitalized patients in acute care settings. HAIs provide a serious problem for the medical field since they raise morbidity, mortality, and medical expense (Goto et al., 2021). Infection control monitoring is one tactic that has been used to lower their prevalence. Nurses play a significant role in controlling and preventing HAIs. Due to the effects of HAIs on nursing practice, infection control monitoring is essential to improve patient outcomes and raise the standard of care delivered in acute care settings (Goto et al., 2021).
Standard of Care
Using various strategies to prevent and manage HAIs, including appropriate hand hygiene, personal protective equipment, and isolation precautions when necessary, are all part of the standard of care for infection control in acute care settings. An additional tactic that has been employed to improve the efficacy of these strategies is infection control monitoring. Healthcare professionals are required under the standard of care to implement evidence-based infection control practices, assess adherence to these policies, and make adjustments to provide the best possible patient outcomes (Goto et al., 2021).
Impact on Quality of Care
Infection control monitoring significantly impacts the standard of care given to patients in acute care settings. Healthcare practitioners can lower the incidence of HAIs, resulting in improved patient outcomes and lower healthcare costs, by monitoring compliance with infection control measures and making changes as needed (Al-Ahmadi et al., 2020). Moreover, infection control monitoring can assist pinpoint locations where infection control procedures need to be improved and present chances for staff education and training. In acute care settings, infection control monitoring is crucial to providing patients with high-quality care (Al-Ahmadi et al., 2020).
Implications for Nursing
Implementing infection control procedures, ensuring that they are followed, and seeing areas for improvement are all the responsibilities of nurses. Nurses can improve infection control procedures by identifying areas of noncompliance and implementing adjustments using infection control monitoring (Al-Ahmadi et al., 2020). Understanding the significance of infection control monitoring is necessary, as are the abilities and expertise required to track compliance and execute improvements efficiently. The quality of care given in acute care settings can be improved by nurses by incorporating infection control monitoring into their practice and reducing HAIs, and improving patient outcomes (Al-Ahmadi et al., 2020).
Conclusion
In conclusion, monitoring for infection control is an essential part of nursing practice in settings that provide acute care. Healthcare practitioners can lower the frequency of HAIs, improve patient outcomes, and raise the standard of care by monitoring compliance with infection control measures and making changes as needed. To increase patient safety and support effective health outcomes, nursing staff must understand the significance of infection control monitoring and incorporate it into their practice.
References
Al-Ahmadi, N. A., Almajid, F. M., Al-Sultan, M. A., Al-Qahtani, A. A., & Al-Tawfiq, J. A. (2020). Impact of a comprehensive infection control program on the incidence of healthcare-associated infections in a tertiary care hospital in Saudi Arabia. American Journal of Infection Control, 48(9), 1047-1051. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2020.03.003
Goto, M., Al-Hasan, M. N., & Perencevich, E. N. (2021). The effect of active surveillance and testing on the incidence of hospital-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections. Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 42(4), 408-413. https://doi.org/10.1017/ice.2020.404
Thandar, M. M., Matsuoka, S., Rahman, O., Ota, E., & Baba, T. (2021). Infection control teams for reducing healthcare-associated infections in hospitals and other healthcare settings: a protocol for systematic review. BMJ open, 11(3), e044971. https://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-044971
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