Public Health Problem
The health problem is that M.R.S.A., an antibiotic resistant bacterium, has become an epidemic in hospitals worldwide (WebMD, 2012). This is because it is a location that many people come to that has become ill or some part of their health is faltering. This means that this place is overcome with many people who have weakened immune systems and even some with some type of infection (MNT, 2013). This makes the perfect circumstance for a disease to overwhelm and infect the area, thus M.R.S.A. can spread rapidly without much interference.
The way in which this problem was able to occur is that because now we have things like hospitals, or other sorts of locations used to aid the public we have now created the opportunity for many people with different illnesses to all accompany each other. This in turn has created a breading ground for bacteria. Thus the more compact the area, like the ER, the more likely to catch some form of illness. Since M.R.S.A. has become too prevalent in the world the likely-hood of people contracting the disease is much higher. Also since it doesn’t require a host for survival, touching contaminated surfaces can transmit it. There have even been instances where hospital staffs accidently were carrying the disease around the hospital on their uniforms. In a study done by Russel Olmsted, 60% of doctors and 65% of nurses were found caring M.R.S.A. on their uniforms. This leads to the risk that every patient they helped or were near during the time they were contaminated are now at risk for the disease (MNT, 2011).
The risk of this Public Health dilemma is that if M.R.S.A. is becoming even more dominant in hospitals what is preventing this epidemic from expanding to an even more dangerous ...
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MNT. (2011, September 1). Hospital Staff Found To Carry MRSA Superbug On Uniforms, Swipe Cards. Medical News Today. Available at: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/233671.php Accessed February 15, 2013
MNT. (2013, July 19). What is MRSA? Why is MRSA a Concern? How is MRSA Treated?. Medical News Today. Available at: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/10634.php Accessed February 15, 2013
Society for Microbiology. (2013, October 24). Copious community-associated MRSA in nursing homes. ScienceDaily. Available at: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131024121800.htm Accessed February 15, 2013
WebMD. (2012, April 18). MRSA: Contagious, Symptoms, Casues, Prevention, Treatments. WebMD. Available at: http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/understanding-mrsa-methicillin-resistant-staphylococcus-aureus Accessed February 15, 2013
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2013), MRSA is easily transmitted from person to person or from touching materials or surfaces that had previous contact with the infection. Using the implementation of infection control along with patient education will help in the decrease of the spread and help in the prevention in MRSA as well as get patients involved in their own care. The purpose of this paper is to present the problem of MRSA as well as include the rationale and history, review the proposed solution, integrate an implementation plan, summarize the literature review, establish an implementation plan, use a nursing theory to support the implementation plan, use a change theory to support the implementation plan, discuss how the project will be evaluated, and create a dissemination
Nosocomial or healthcare-associated infection (HAI) occurs when a patient receiving treatment in a health care setting develops an infection secondary to their original condition. These infections are serious and costly adverse outcomes of medical care that affect nearly two million people in the United States annually and lead to substantial morbidity and mortality. With increased days of hospitalization and direct medical costs, HAIs account for an estimated $20 billion per year in national health care expenditure every year. As such, they present one of the major threats to patient safety and remain a critical challenge to public health. On any given day, approximately [one in 25 patients] contracts at least one infection while receiving
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"Preventing Exposures to Bloodborne Pathogens among Paramedics." Workplace Solutions (2010): n. pag. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Web. 9 Feb. 2014.
The purpose of his article was to find a better way to prevent healthcare-associated infections (HCAI) and explain what could be done to make healthcare facilities safer. The main problem that Cole presented was a combination of crowded hospitals that are understaffed with bed management problems and inadequate isolation facilities, which should not be happening in this day and age (Cole, 2011). He explained the “safety culture properties” (Cole, 2011) that are associated with preventing infection in healthcare; these include justness, leadership, teamwork, evidence based practice, communication, patient centeredness, and learning. If a healthcare facility is not honest about their work and does not work together, the patient is much more likely to get injured or sick while in the
After Bryant Hatch lost his leg to MRSA, which is a contagious and antibiotic- resistant staph bacteria that leads to potentially dangerous infection, his son and son in law discover some useful information. Both his sons were interested in microbiology. Brad Berges was a virologist and Jacob Hatch was a senior molecular biology student at the time in BYU. MRSA is usually picked up in the hospital by already-immunocompromised people like Bryant Hatch, who has struggled with foot problems and surgeries due to his diabetes. MRSA grows together into clusters creating a biofilm that is resistant to penetration by most known antibiotics. MRSA secretes white blood cell killing molecules, neutralizes your antibodies and trigger your immune system
Safety is focused on reducing the chance of harm to staff and patients. The 2016 National Patient Safety Goals for Hospitals includes criteria such as using two forms of identification when caring for a patient to ensure the right patient is being treated, proper hand washing techniques to prevent nosocomial infections and reporting critical information promptly (Joint Commission, 2015). It is important that nurses follow standards and protocols intending to patients to decrease adverse
Patient education is of paramount importance if MRSA is to be reduced to its lowest minimum. According to Noble 2009, patient’s education stands a critical component of managing MRSA therefore; nurses are expected to be prompt in educating patients on specific measures in limiting and reducing the spread of MRSA by person to person contact. (Noble, 2009) The specific measures includes definition of MRSA, mode of transmission, the damage it can do to the body, specific treatments available and the process of treatment. This is to help the patient take part in the care. Noble 2009 explains that during care giving nurses and all other healthcare provider involve in giving care to a patient should communicate to patient all the precaution that will prevent the transmission of MRSA, and also giving the scientific rationale for the use of any precaution that is been used in the cause of care giving. (Noble, 2009.)
Hospital acquired infections are one of the most common complications of care in the hospital setting. Hospital acquired infections are infections that patients acquired during the stay in the hospital. These infections can cause an increase in the number of days the patients stay in the hospital. Hospital acquired infections make the patients worse or even cause death. “In the USA alone, hospital acquired infections cause about 1.7 million infections and 99,000 deaths per year”(secondary).
Reducing healthcare associated infections (HAI) or nosocomial infections is an ongoing challenge for healthcare facilities. As healthcare changes from a fee-for-service billing system to a value-based or outcome-based billing system, it will be essential for healthcare providers to minimize hospital acquired infections and hospital readmissions to maintain a healthy bottom line. Sifri, Burke and Enfield’s (2016) article asserts “despite important reduction in certain HAIs, the nation has not yet reached the goals for HAI reduction set by the Department of Health and Human Service’s 2009 National Action Plan to Prevent Healthcare associated infections” (p. 1565). Healthcare providers have known for years that pathogens such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA), B-lactamase producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL), and Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) are examples of pathogens that remain viable on surfaces for extended periods of time. Patients are consistently shedding bacteria, contaminating bed linens, gowns and hard surfaces. As a result, the bacteria can be transferred from patients to healthcare workers and medical equipment. Some of the pathogens can remain viable for days, weeks and even months on hard surfaces. Clostridium difficile can survive for months in an untreated environment.
Nosocomial infections are commonly transmitted when hospital staff becomes casual and individuals associated with the hospital practices do not coduct correct hygiene on regular basis. The use of outpatient treatment is on the increase and continuously increased during the past decade. A greater number of people are hospitalized today and are more likely to be seriously ill, speacially those with more weakened immune systems, than in the past. Moreover, some medical procedures bypass the body's natural protective barriers. Since medical staff treats many patients on daily basis, the staff themselves serve as a source of spread of pathogens. Therefore, the staff act as vectors to HAI.
Patient safety must be the first priority in the health care system, and it is widely accepta-ble that unnecessary harm to a patient must be controlled.Two million babies and mother die due to preventable medical errors annually worldwide due to pregnancy related complications and there is worldwide increase in nosocomial infections, which is almost equal to 5-10% of total admissions occurring in the hospitals. (WHO Patient Safety Research, 2009). Total 1.4 million patients are victims of hospital-acquired infection. (WHO Patient Safety Research, 2009). Unsafe infection practice leads to 1.3 million death word wide and loss of 26 millions of life while ad-verse drug events are increasing in health care and 10% of total admitted patients are facing ad-verse drug events. (WHO Patient Safety Re...
(2014) shed light on two key components for infection control, which includes protecting patients from acquiring infections and protecting health care workers from becoming infected (Curchoe et al., 2014). The techniques that are used to protect patients also provide protection for nurses and other health care workers alike. In order to prevent the spread of infections, it is important for health care workers to be meticulous and attentive when providing care to already vulnerable patients (Curchoe et al., 2014). If a health care worker is aware they may contaminate the surroundings of a patient, they must properly clean, disinfect, and sterilize any contaminated objects in order to reduce or eliminate microorganisms (Curchoe et al., 2014). It is also ideal to change gloves after contact with contaminated secretions and before leaving a patient’s room (Curchoe, 2014). Research suggests that due to standard precaution, gloves must be worn as a single-use item for each invasive procedure, contact with sterile sites, and non-intact skin or mucous membranes (Curchoe et al., 2014). Hence, it is critical that health care workers change gloves during any activity that has been assessed as carrying a risk of exposure to body substances, secretions, excretions, and blood (Curchoe et al.,
University of Maryland Medical Center. (2013, December 18). What is a Pediatrician?. Retrieved September 12, 2014, from http://umm.edu/programs/childrens/health/about/what-is-a-pediatrician