In a Microsoft Word document of 5-6 pages formatted in APA style, respond to the following topics related to quality improvement problems.
Identify a quality-related problem on your unit, in your organization, or in your practice area that is found on the IHI or Joint Commission websites. Do not use Central Line-associated Bloodstream Infection (CLABSI) ) or Catheter-associated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTI). Quality-Related Problem:
Describe the best practices or recommended guidelines related to the problem you identified.
Explain the financial impact of this problem on the organization and on the patient.
Describe how you will implement your project using the IHI PDSA model. Describe a project you could implement to address the identified problem using the IHI PDSA model.
Explain the quality improvement measures you could use to track the quality improvement project.
Determine what quality improvement tool or tools would be most useful to help analyze and monitor the problem (e.g., run chart, flow¬chart, Pareto chart).
Identify a leadership theory or model you would use to implement your project.
Support your responses with examples and information from library resources, textbooks and lectures.
On a separate reference page, cite all sources using APA format. Please note that the title and reference pages should not be included in the total page count of your paper.
Quality-Related Problem
It is important to note the fact that there has been an increase in the evidence of the many problems in patient safety as well as gaps between the care that patients are currently receiving and what they are supposed to receive. Efforts have proved to be patchy and inconsistent in finding an everlasting solution. There is an increase in interest in explaining why these efforts have not been fruitful and, in particular, trying to identify the barriers and enablers to the improvement of the same. Quality-related issues have been a major problem when it comes to delivering care to patients in various healthcare sectors.
Quality-related problems are common in healthcare facilities, as they have been identified as one of the top five issues by the Joint Commission and Institute for Healthcare Improvement (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019). These quality-related issues can be found on their websites. Most importantly, these issues can be related to management or structural issues like partnerships between organizations. The healthcare system is responsible for a large number of quality-related problems. One of these problems is hand hygiene. Hand hygiene is the practice of washing hands with soap and water after going to the bathroom or before touching someone else’s body. It is important for preventing the spread of infections, but it is not something that people do every day.
Best Practices
Hand hygiene is a key component of infection control and patient safety, and healthcare providers must understand how best to practice it. Healthcare workers can reduce the spread of infectious diseases by practising proper hand hygiene. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2019) recommends that healthcare workers wash their hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or longer, if possible. If you don’t have access to running water, use an alcohol-free sanitizing gel or gel foam that contains at least 60% alcohol.
This can be done with a paper towel or by using an alcohol-based hand rub. The hands should be washed again after touching surfaces that may have been contaminated (such as door handles), and they should be cleaned with soap and water before leaving the building. It is also recommended that healthcare workers use a disposable, single-use alcohol wipe between patients to prevent the spread of germs. Gaube et al. (2021) state that it is important to remember that hand hygiene isn’t just about preventing the spread of germs; it’s also about personal appearance. Washing your hands properly will help you feel more confident in your work environment, which can positively impact your patients’ experience and yours!
Financial Impact
The problem of hand hygiene is a serious issue in hospitals, which can impact the organization, patients, and others. The financial impact of the problem is significant because it causes an increase in healthcare costs and decreases employees’ productivity (Cawthorne et al., 2020). The organizational impact of this problem is that it contributes to higher rates of absenteeism, increased staff turnover rates, and decreased employee morale. These problems result from increased staff burnout and stress caused by inadequate hand hygiene practices.
Researchers have found that the financial impact of hand hygiene on the organization can be substantial. One study found that the amount of time lost to a work-related illness caused by poor hand hygiene was enough to cost a company $1.6 million per year. The financial impact on patients is also significant, with some studies finding that the cost of treating infections caused by poor hand hygiene at hospitals can be up to $2 billion per year in some cases (Cawthorne et al., 2020).
IHI PDSA Model
The IHI PDSA Cycle is a useful model for improving the quality of a project or product. The model begins with Plan, Do, Study, Act. A plan is used to determine what needs to be done and how it should be done. Do is where the work is performed; it’s where the project happens. The study involves identifying problems and issues that arise during the construction or implementation of a project so that they can be corrected before more damage occurs. And finally, Act refers to deciding whether or not things went as planned and if changes need to be made for future projects or products to succeed.
The first step in this project is to identify the problem. In this case, we can assume that there is a high infection rate due to poor hand hygiene practices. This leads to an increase in healthcare costs and decreased quality of life. Next, define the scope of what you are trying to accomplish. We need to determine whether or not we can achieve our goal within a reasonable timeframe and budget. This is especially important if it’s something new that hasn’t been done before or if it’s something that has never been attempted before (e.g., building an app).
Once you have defined what needs to be done, set up your plan for success by considering who will be involved in implementing the project, how long it should take, what resources are required (both monetary and human), how long it will take for each step of implementation, and any other issues that might arise during implementation (e.g., if someone leaves midway through). Finally, follow up on each implementation step as promised so that nothing falls through the cracks!
Quality Improvement Measure
Measuring outcomes from these efforts will help determine whether any improvements were made in reducing infection rates among workers at this company. Using the IHI PDSA model, I can design a project that addresses the problem of hand hygiene. The quality improvement measures I could use to track the quality improvement project include the following:
-Collecting data on how often employees wash their hands and what their reasons for doing so are
-Tracking how many more people are washing their hands compared to before the program started
-Measuring the number of people who did not wash their hands as often as they should have
Tool
The best tool to analyze and monitor the hand hygiene problem is a flow chart. A flow chart is a method for organizing information and communicating it in an easy-to-read way. It can be used to evaluate, monitor, and analyze the performance of various processes. A flow chart as a quality improvement tool would be most useful to help analyze and monitor the hand hygiene problem.
Hand hygiene is a process that involves removing harmful substances from one’s hands to prevent the transmission of infectious diseases (Abou Mrad et al., 2020). It is important because many diseases are caused by contact with contaminated surfaces, such as door handles, doorknobs, restroom handles, faucet handles, and cash register handles.
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Hand washing is also known as “antimicrobial” washing because it helps reduce the number of bacteria and viruses on one’s hands by removing them from the surface, where they can multiply into harmful disease-causing organisms (Engdaw et al., 2020). Hand washing can be done with soap and water or with antimicrobial products that contain alcohol or other chemicals that kill microorganisms present on contaminated surfaces (e.g., door knobs).
In conclusion, healthcare faces many problems that can affect how services are offered to patients. As seen in this paper, hand hygiene is one such problem that must be addressed to ensure the patient’s safety and well-being are considered. To promote the use of hand hygiene, the healthcare system should focus on providing proper education, training, and tools to reduce the spread of infection.
Hand hygiene is a quality-related problem in the healthcare system because it is not consistently practised or can be difficult to implement in clinical settings. For example, some nurses feel uncomfortable washing their hands before performing procedures such as taking blood pressure readings or giving injections. This means they cannot maintain proper hygiene and prevent the spread of infection. Furthermore, many different types of equipment used in healthcare facilities can lead to cross-contamination if workers do not wash their hands properly or properly handle them between tasks (such as changing a bandage). In addition, nurses may be unaware of how important it is to practice good hand hygiene when caring for patients.
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References
Abou Mrad, Z., Saliba, N., Abou Merhi, D., Rahi, A., & Nabulsi, M. (2020). Sustaining compliance with hand hygiene when resources are low: A quality improvement report. PloS one, 15(11), e0241706. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0241706
Cawthorne, K., Dean, J., & Cooke, R. (2020). The financial impact of improved hand hygiene on healthcare-associated infections in the UK. Canadian Journal of Infection Control | F 35(3); 117-122
Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019). Hand hygiene in healthcare settings. https://www.cdc.gov/handhygiene/index.html
Engdaw, G.T., Gebrehiwot, M. & Andualem, Z. (2020). Hand hygiene compliance and associated factors among health care providers in Central Gondar zone public primary hospitals, Northwest Ethiopia. Antimicrob Resist Infect Control 8, 190. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13756-019-0634-z
Gaube, S., Fischer, P. & Lermer, E. (2021) Hand(y) hygiene insights: Applying three theoretical models to investigate hospital patients’ and visitors’ hand hygiene behaviour. PLoS ONE 16(1): e0245543. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245543
