Hand Hygiene Compliance in Intensive Care Units - Essay Example

"Hand Hygiene Compliance in Intensive Care Units" is a great example of a paper on the health system.

The FOCUS-PDSA model would guide my task force. It would begin by identifying the problem, analyzing and understanding the problem, and agreeing on a possible solution (Stan, 2018). The task force would then use the information collected to execute the action plan for change. The use of proper communication would be essential in driving change.

Caregivers may suffer from an allergic reaction to the kind of sanitizing products provided by the institution, or they may cause drying of the skin. Other caregivers may be just arrogant or forgetful and fail to adhere to the set regulations (De Wandel et al., 2010). In some instances, caregivers may prefer to use gloves when going into patients' rooms instead of sanitizing their hands. Apart from caregivers, housekeepers, lab technicians, visitors, and doctors are some of the people who enter into patients' rooms. They also need to sanitize their hands when entering and leaving the patients' wards to avoid spreading the infection.

The departmental heads and directors need to be part of the task force to represent all the departments in the hospital. The task force should report their results to the hospital manager who needs to evaluate them before implementing the suggested solutions to the problem.

The inaccessibility of the hand sanitizing products could contribute to non-compliance among the caregivers. The hand sanitizers should be placed in visible and easily accessible areas like at the entrance and exit of the patient's room. Lack of knowledge on the importance of hand hygiene may also be a contributing factor to non-compliance. The caregivers should be trained on hand hygiene and its importance in preventing infections (Buchbinder & Shanks, 2017).

The task force needs to record the number of compliant and noncompliant caregivers in the hospital. It should also record the number of hand sanitizer dispensing stations on every floor to determine whether they are enough. The task force should collect data on the reasons why only 40% of the caregivers are compliant to know what action needs to be taken to increase the percentage of compliance.

It would be easier to handle only a handful of noncompliant caregivers than more than 40% of noncompliant caregivers. The task force would be helped by the majority of the compliant caregivers to emphasize the importance of hand hygiene in the prevention of infection transmission. The problem would be solved in a short span of time leading to the decline in the transmission of the infection.

The staff should be trained on information security regularly to avoid any mishaps that may adversely affect the hospital. The training should be done during induction and regularly during practice.

The data provided is inadequate to come up with a wholesome solution. The task force needs to know the reasons behind non-compliance. For example, how many caregivers do not know the importance of hand hygiene in the prevention of infection transmission? How many caregivers have an allergic reaction to the hand sanitizers provided? Which brands of hand sanitizers would they prefer? Are the hand sanitizing stations in the hospital enough? The provision of detailed data will enable the task force to come up with highly informed solutions.

The hospital should start a handwashing campaign that will emphasize the importance of hand hygiene in preventing the transmission of infections. The campaign will ensure that handwashing becomes a norm in the hospital and a high percentage of caregivers will be compliant.

All the five aspects of the FOCUS model would be equally important in the improvement efforts. The task force should incorporate all the aspects of the FOCUS model to come up with high-quality interventions (Stan, 2018). The overlooking of any of the aspects can lead to poor quality solutions which will be a deterrent to the improvement efforts of the hospital.

MCH can motivate its staff to be more compliant by training them on the importance of hand hygiene in preventing the spread of infection. It can use statistics to emphasize the dangers of poor hand hygiene and encourage proper hand sanitization. The hospital can also set up hand sanitizing stations in areas that are convenient to the caregivers and other people who enter and leave patients’ rooms. Posters will constantly remind the caregivers about the importance of hand hygiene which will lead to a high degree of compliance. In addition, rewarding those who are compliant will motivate more caregivers to remain compliant.

A poka-yoke would be effective in supporting the improvement efforts of the task force (Grout & Toussaint, 2010). The caregivers would see the consequences of not adhering to the handwashing rules which would encourage them to be compliant. It may be costly but the results are worth the investment.