In the healthcare setting, healthcare professionals experience problems that require prompt mechanisms to address to improve the health and well-being of the patient population. For healthcare personnel, addressing these problems requires the use of evidence-based change practice projects, where after identifying the problem, they try various interventions to help determine their role in improving the health and well-being of the population. One major problem I have witnessed in health care is hospital-acquired infections, especially by touching infected surfaces. Many patients or even visitors in the hospital have been victims of hospital-acquired infections, which make them develop complications and require them to stay in the facility for way too long while receiving treatment (Brinkwirth et al., 2021). When the patients stay in the hospital for extended periods, both the hospital and the patients spend a lot of money and resources, including time, on something they could otherwise have prevented before it happened.

In addressing the problem of hospital-acquired infections, one major initiative is to improve hand hygiene compliance, which could include washing hands using water and soap to minimize the risk of spread of infections. In hospitals, patients and visitors should be educated to wash their hands while in the hospital, especially after touching common areas, such as door knobs and bed rails, among other areas (Mouajou et al., 2022). In addition, the visitors should wash their hands with running water and soap for approximately 20 seconds at all times during their visit to the hospital. This practice will ensure a proper method to address this problem of hospital-acquired infections and improve the overall health and well-being of patients while within the hospital setting.

References

Brinkwirth, S., Ayobami, O., Eckmanns, T., & Markwart, R. (2021). Hospital-acquired infections caused by enterococci: a systematic review and meta-analysis, WHO European Region, 1 January 2010 to 4 February 2020. Eurosurveillance, 26(45), 2001628. doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.45.2001628

Mouajou, V., Adams, K., DeLisle, G., & Quach, C. (2022). Hand hygiene compliance in the prevention of hospital-acquired infections: a systematic review. Journal of Hospital Infection, 119, 33-48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2021.09.016