NUR 630 Benchmark – Hospital-Associated Infections Data

Grand Canyon University NUR 630 Benchmark – Hospital-Associated Infections Data – Step-By-Step Guide

This guide will demonstrate how to complete the Grand Canyon University  NUR 630 Benchmark – Hospital-Associated Infections Data  assignment based on general principles of academic writing. Here, we will show you the A, B, Cs of completing an academic paper, irrespective of the instructions. After guiding you through what to do, the guide will leave one or two sample essays at the end to highlight the various sections discussed below.

How to Research and Prepare for NUR 630 Benchmark – Hospital-Associated Infections Data                           

Whether one passes or fails an academic assignment such as the Grand Canyon University  NUR 630 Benchmark – Hospital-Associated Infections Data  depends on the preparation done beforehand. The first thing to do once you receive an assignment is to quickly skim through the requirements. Once that is done, start going through the instructions one by one to clearly understand what the instructor wants. The most important thing here is to understand the required format—whether it is APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.

After understanding the requirements of the paper, the next phase is to gather relevant materials. The first place to start the research process is the weekly resources. Go through the resources provided in the instructions to determine which ones fit the assignment. After reviewing the provided resources, use the university library to search for additional resources. After gathering sufficient and necessary resources, you are now ready to start drafting your paper.

How to Write the Introduction for NUR 630 Benchmark – Hospital-Associated Infections Data                           

The introduction for the Grand Canyon University  NUR 630 Benchmark – Hospital-Associated Infections Data  is where you tell the instructor what your paper will encompass. In three to four statements, highlight the important points that will form the basis of your paper. Here, you can include statistics to show the importance of the topic you will be discussing. At the end of the introduction, write a clear purpose statement outlining what exactly will be contained in the paper. This statement will start with “The purpose of this paper…” and then proceed to outline the various sections of the instructions.

How to Write the Body for NUR 630 Benchmark – Hospital-Associated Infections Data                           

After the introduction, move into the main part of the NUR 630 Benchmark – Hospital-Associated Infections Data  assignment, which is the body. Given that the paper you will be writing is not experimental, the way you organize the headings and subheadings of your paper is critically important. In some cases, you might have to use more subheadings to properly organize the assignment. The organization will depend on the rubric provided. Carefully examine the rubric, as it will contain all the detailed requirements of the assignment. Sometimes, the rubric will have information that the normal instructions lack.

Another important factor to consider at this point is how to do citations. In-text citations are fundamental as they support the arguments and points you make in the paper. At this point, the resources gathered at the beginning will come in handy. Integrating the ideas of the authors with your own will ensure that you produce a comprehensive paper. Also, follow the given citation format. In most cases, APA 7 is the preferred format for nursing assignments.

How to Write the Conclusion for NUR 630 Benchmark – Hospital-Associated Infections Data                           

After completing the main sections, write the conclusion of your paper. The conclusion is a summary of the main points you made in your paper. However, you need to rewrite the points and not simply copy and paste them. By restating the points from each subheading, you will provide a nuanced overview of the assignment to the reader.

How to Format the References List for NUR 630 Benchmark – Hospital-Associated Infections Data                           

The very last part of your paper involves listing the sources used in your paper. These sources should be listed in alphabetical order and double-spaced. Additionally, use a hanging indent for each source that appears in this list. Lastly, only the sources cited within the body of the paper should appear here.

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Sample Answer for NUR 630 Benchmark – Hospital-Associated Infections Data

Presentation’s Outline

Regardless of size, resources, and other factors, health care facilities should consistently pursue high performance. Quality measures guide hospitals in evaluating performance and determining the scope and type of interventions required to enhance performance. The purpose of this presentation is to examine data related to hospital-acquired infection rates at ABC Health. Understanding this data and its implications is crucial for stakeholders to collaborate and define the desired goal for improvement. The main presentation areas include conclusions drawn for each measure, trends, and comparisons with the national benchmark. Other areas include an outline of priority quality measures, quality improvement metric, monitoring strategies, and using data for quality improvement.

Conclusions for SSIs from Colon Surgery (SSI: Colon)

In the current practice, surgical site infections (SSIs) continue to threaten patient safety and care quality. According to McFarland et al. (2023), SSIs are the second-most occurring hospital-associated infections after urinary tract infections. As displayed in this graph, SSI: colon rates rose sharply from 2012 to 2013 before increasing steadily from 2013 to 2015. Generally, there is a threatening increase in infection rates, posing a significant risk to patients undergoing colon surgery at ABC Health. Hou et al. (2020) reported that a single incidence of SSIs after surgery can double the danger of postoperative mortality. Therefore, multimodal interventions to prevent the rising infection rates for SSI colon are crucial in the facility.

Conclusions for CLABSI

Organizational leaders should know all issues hampering care quality and increasing facility management costs. Awareness of the rates of CLABSI can help them design effective control measures and reduce costs. As shown in the graph, CLABSI rates at ABC Health during the five years are somewhat within the same range (2.234, 2.089, 3.128, 3.063, and 3.422). Despite this performance, the goal should always be providing care without an incidence of HAI. This data could imply that the present interventions for controlling CLABSI are ineffective. Therefore, a change is necessary, but intervention designers and implementers should be effectively guided by data, scientific evidence, and priorities.

Conclusions for CAUTI

Hospitals should be safe sites for patients and care providers. A reliable way of achieving this goal is to implement measures to prevent HAIs as much as possible. CAUTI infection rates data for ABC Health is encouraging since it shows a consistent decline over the five years. Such a decline implies increased patient safety, more satisfaction, and other outcomes of reduced infection rates. Musco et al. (2022) suggested that most facilities rely on care bundles to prevent CAUTI, consisting of multiple interventions to address various clinical indicators. From the data on CAUTI at ABC Health, it can be deduced that measures used to prevent CAUTI from 2011 to 2015 were effective.

Conclusions for SSI: Hysterectomy

A facility recording high rates of surgical site infections from abdominal hysterectomy (SSI: Hysterectomy) should be worried about its procedures and the standard of the care environment. As the graph demonstrates, SSIs from abdominal hysterectomies at ABC Health increased steadily from 2011-2015 (1.148, 2.132, 2.094, 3.697, 4.608). Although there was an insignificant decline during the 2012-2013 period, overall data demonstrates a high-risk area since there has been no considerable decline over the years. Shigematsu et al. (2022) associated high infection rates after abdominal hysterectomy with prolonged operative time (lasting over 3 hours), excess blood loss, and the general condition of the patient. Therefore, examining these risk factors could help ABC Health to prevent further increases in the rates due to the resultant harm.

Trends Over the 5-Year Period

Hospitals should use quality measures to guide performance improvement. As the data shows, the rates for SSI colon have steadily increased in the past three years. CLABSI rates also reveal some increment in the same period, which is different for CAUTI, whose rates have declined. However, there is no data to allow a comprehensive analysis of CAUTI. SSI: hysterectomy rates are also on a gradual increment in the last three years. From these trends, it is obvious that risk factors that increase HAIs at ABC Health were high from 2013 to 2015. If not effectively controlled, there is a likelihood of recording similar or worse data after 2015.

Comparison with the National Benchmark: SSI Colon

Hospitals should always weigh their performance internally and externally. Willmington et al. (2022) underlined the importance of national benchmarks since they allow care facilities to identify their strengths and weaknesses at all system levels. Compared to the national benchmark, ABC Health did well from 2011 to 2013 since the infection rates were lower or equal to the national benchmark. Unfortunately, that was not the case in 2014 and 2015 since the rates were higher than the national benchmark, indicating a poorer performance than other facilities. As a result, intensified control measures are crucial in this area and others where infection rates exceed the national benchmark.

Comparison with the National Benchmark: CLABSI

CLABSI infection rates at ABC Health provide interesting figures compared to the national benchmarks. In 2011 and 2012, the hospital rates were worse than the national benchmark. In 2013, the rates were slightly better than the national benchmark before recording same figures in 2014 and 2015. On average, the rates are within the same range as the national benchmark, underscoring the need for intensified efforts to achieve a significant decline. Beville et al. (2021) advised health care professionals to consider reducing central line day by removing nonessential catheters, increasing multidisciplinary rounds, and other appropriate interventions. Similar measures are needed for the hospital rates to be lower than the national benchmark.

Comparison with the National Benchmark: CAUTI

CAUTIs increase health care costs and hospitalizations if not effectively controlled in care facilities. Compared to the national benchmark, CAUTI rates at ABC Health are better than the national benchmark over time. The reason being, the measure exceeded the national benchmark only in 2011 before equaling it in 2012 and recording a significant reduction in 2014 and 2015. Undeniably, a performance better than the national benchmark depends on the interventions a care facility uses to control infections. For CAUTI, the care bundle is widely used in many hospitals and has positive outcomes (Gupta et al., 2023). Therefore, ABC Health should continue with its CAUTI management strategies and integrate others that can lower the rates significantly.

Comparison with the National Benchmark: SSI Hysterectomy

Data provide an accurate reflection of hospital performance for stakeholders. On average, it can be deduced that ABC Health’s performance for SSI: hysterectomy is worse than the national benchmark over the years. This is because it only performed better than the national benchmark in 2011 before equaling it in 2012 and 2013. Next, the hospital’s performance declined in 2014 and 2015, indicating an increased risk for patients. Pangan et al. (2022) underlined the need for care facilities to implement the hysterectomy bundle to prevent SSIs from abdominal hysterectomy. Its essential components are chlorhexidine bathing and incisional skin preparation in the intraoperative phase and patient education in the post-operative phase.

Priority Quality Measures

Health care facilities prioritize intervention areas based on the severity of an issue, resources available, and evidence-based practice (EBP). After examining the data, priority quality measures should be SSI: colon and SSI: hysterectomy. As discussed in their respective sections, the rates for these measures have been increasing over time during the reference period. Besides, their average performance is worse than the national benchmark, indicating the need for rapid and sustainable interventions to control the current risk and mitigate future threats. Importantly, SSIs are critical outcome measures since they are effects of poor processes, such as long surgical hours, inadequate post-procedure hygiene, and poor orientation of nurses (Shigematsu et al., 2022; Tesfaye et al., 2022). Addressing them is crucial for higher outcomes in this facility.

Quality Improvement Metric and Related Measures

High patient outcomes are achieved through a concerted effort to address performance gaps. As Krishnappa et al. (2022) stated, health care professionals should work towards achieving specific goals within a particular timeline while using appropriate models. Doing so ensures effective utilization of health resources and performance tracking to facilitate adjustments as situations necessitate. Reducing SSI: hysterectomy is an appropriate quality improvement metric since it is specific, measurable, and time-bound. Apart from patient education, higher performance can be achieved by an incessant desire to promoting a safety culture, hand hygiene practices, and skin infection before and after procedures. Continuous vigilance of at-risk patients can also help ABC Health to respond to issues proactively.

Monitoring the Metric

Evidence-based interventions to address performance gaps are resource- and time-intensive. Therefore, implementers should monitor performance appropriately and modify the process as situations prompt. A patient education program for reducing SSI: hysterectomy can be effectively monitored progressively and at the end of the process. Progressive monitoring tools include checklists assessing whether everything progresses as planned. Patients can also be interviewed about their experiences with the intervention to evaluate its feasibility. Summative evaluation can provide reliable quantitative data about the effectiveness of the intervention. A suitable approach is a comparative analysis of the SSI: hysterectomy rates before and after patient education to determine whether the expected rate reduction was attained.

Using Data for Quality Improvement

Quality improvement is a continuous process focused on achieving better outcomes for patients, care providers, and health care facilities. According to Shah (2019), data helps nursing staff and leaders gain deeper insight into an issue and understand its meaning. Similarly, data from progressive and summative evaluations of the intervention can be useful in assessing its feasibility and identifying improvement areas. Data would also be helpful in evaluating the scope of future quality improvement programs, such as patient education and hand hygiene projects. Since some issues require multidimensional interventions, data is also essential in analyzing whether a single intervention or different programs are needed to address quality issues in the facility.

Summary

Quality improvement should be prioritized in health care facilities to optimize patient outcomes. The quality measures for ABC Health focus on HAIs, which significantly affect patient safety, care quality, and patient satisfaction. As graphically analyzed in the various sections, there is a threatening increase in rates for most measures except CAUTI. Therefore, ABC Health should prioritize some areas for immediate interventions. SSI: colon and SSI: hysterectomy should be the priority measures due to the increment in rates over the five years. The quality improvement metric (QIM) can be subjected to both progressive and summative monitoring to provide data for addressing performance gaps related to HAIs and other measures.

References

™Beville, A. S. M., Heipel, D., Vanhoozer, G., & Bailey, P. (2021). Reducing central line associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) by reducing central line days. Current Infectious Disease Reports, 23(12), 23. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11908-021-00767-w

™Gupta, P., Thomas, M., Mathews, L., Zacharia, N., Ibrahim, A. F., Garcia, M. L., … & El Hassan, M. (2023). Reducing catheter-associated urinary tract infections in the cardiac intensive care unit with a coordinated strategy and nursing staff empowerment. BMJ Open Quality, 12(2), e002214. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjoq-2022-002214

™Hou, T. Y., Gan, H. Q., Zhou, J. F., Gong, Y. J., Li, L. Y., Zhang, X. Q., … & Zhang, Y. (2020). Incidence of and risk factors for surgical site infection after colorectal surgery: a multiple-center prospective study of 3,663 consecutive patients in China. International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 96, 676-681. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2020.05.124

™Krishnappa, V., George, E., Oravec, M., Jones, R., Lee, A., & Sweet, D. (2022). Quality improvement project to improve providers’ goal-setting activity for chronic disease self-management. Journal of Healthcare Quality Research, 37(2), 79–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhqr.2021.10.003

™McFarland, A., Manoukian, S., Mason, H., & Reilly, J. (2023). Impact of surgical-site infection on health utility values: a meta-analysis. British Journal of Surgery, znad144. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjs/znad144

™Musco, S., Giammò, A., Savoca, F., Gemma, L., Geretto, P., Soligo, M., Sacco, E., Del Popolo, G., & Li Marzi, V. (2022). How to prevent catheter-associated urinary tract infections: a reappraisal of Vico’s theory-is history repeating itself?. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 11(12), 3415. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11123415

™Pangan, A., Castellano-Flynn, P., & Bowman, D. (2020). Creation of a hysterectomy bundle to reduce surgical site infections: a Standardized Approach. American Journal of Infection Control, 48(8), S42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2020.06.043

™Shah, A. (2019). Using data for improvement. BMJ, 364. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.l189

™Shigematsu, K., Samejima, K., Kizaki, Y., Matsunaga, S., Nagai, T., & Takai, Y. (2022). Factors associated with surgical-site infection after total laparoscopic hysterectomy. Laparoscopic, Endoscopic and Robotic Surgery, 5(4), 131-135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lers.2022.09.001

™Tesfaye, T., Dheresa, M., Worku, T., Dechasa, D. B., Asfaw, H., & Bune, A. J. (2022). Surgical site infection prevention practice and associated factors among nurses working at public hospitals of the western part of southern nation, nationalities, and peoples’ region, Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study. Frontiers in Surgery, 9, 1013726. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsurg.2022.1013726

™Willmington, C., Belardi, P., Murante, A. M., & Vainieri, M. (2022). The contribution of benchmarking to quality improvement in healthcare. A systematic literature review. BMC Health Services Research, 22(1), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-022-07467-8

Instituting a just culture within a healthcare organization requires management action on multiple fronts. These fronts include integrating just culture principles into daily work practices and processes, building awareness, and implementing policies supporting a just culture. The two elements of a just culture I regard most difficult to achieve are patient safety and human behavior. 

Building awareness is critical in ensuring the staff members understand the entire concept of a just culture related to human behavior. A strategy that will make this achievable is surveying managers, staff, medical leaders, and administrators through various questions that seek to determine their thoughts about the organization’s response to a particular behavior by a clinician if it led to harm (Marx, 2019). For instance, such behavior could be a medication error or bringing unauthorized equipment into the surgical room for utilization in surgery. The survey results will indicate how people consider being judged when their behavioral choice harms (Marx, 2019). Raising awareness should accompany it through educational sessions for all staff to better understand a just culture along with its practical and helpful principles and tools that they can use.  The staff will also learn to classify behavioral choices as at-risk behavior, error, or reckless behavior. 

Once every organizational member has grasped the concept of a just culture and the leadership buys into it, the organization can incorporate it into daily work. Hence, a strategy to achieve the patient safety element of a just culture is through integration of just culture into organizational processes and practices (Bates & Singh, 2018). The leadership should not introduce a just culture as a new initiative but look at the challenges faced and apply just culture principles to that situation. For instance, if its priority is to reduce the harm associated with patient misidentification that results in errors, the organization should focus on how it would work with its staff to understand and classify behavioral choices as reckless, at-risk, or error, along with organization response to such behavior (Bates & Singh, 2018). Thus, the healthcare organization can incorporate just culture into its performance improvement initiatives such as patient identification, hand washing, and other safety measures.

References

Bates, D. W., & Singh, H. (2018). Two Decades Since to Err is Human: An Assessment of Progress and Emerging Priorities in Patient Safety. Health Affairs, 37(11), 1736–1743. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2018.0738 

Marx, D. (2019). Patient Safety and the Just Culture. Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinics of North America, 46(2), 239–245. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ogc.2019.01.003