Healthcare Associated Infections - Essay Example

"Healthcare Associated Infections" is a wonderful example of a paper on the health system. Healthcare Associated Infections (HAI) are undoubtedly a serious public health concern not only in the United States but across the globe (The Joint Commission, 2009). It is unfortunate that a significant number of patients continue to suffer in different ways ranging from loss of life, extended stay in hospitals, and huge medical bills owing to HAI. Hand washing among health workers stands out as one of the most effective ways of eliminating HAI (Yokoe, D et al, 2008). An evaluation plan is a robust initiative aimed at ensuring that the goals and objectives of an initiative are achieved effectively.  

1. Was the evaluation plan appropriate to the design of the program?

The evaluation plan was highly suitable for the design of the hand hygiene program because it was designed to cover the entire processes involved in the program.  For instance, the three major methods and tools of evaluation, which include survey, observation, and review of infection control monitoring reports applied in the evaluation process, were well commensurate with the needs of the program as stated in the design. The plan was also designed to be robust covering all processes but at the same time cost-effective making it appropriate to the program design.  

2. Identify the goals and objectives of the evaluation plan.

The goals and objectives of the hand hygiene evaluation plan are as follows: Assess whether the program met its stipulated goals and objectives, Measure the long-term effect of the hand hygiene initiative, Measure the quality of hand hygiene programs implemented in hospitals, Assessing the satisfaction level of the key stakeholders.

3. What were the activities related to this evaluation?

The evaluation process took into consideration a wide range of activities key among them being building a conceptual model of the entire process including identifying the key stakeholders, stipulating their respective roles and responsibilities. Another vital activity involved carrying out member surveys concerning the program and this covered survey of impact, goals, and the process.  Additionally, there were constant reviews of impact indicators such as infection control monitoring reports to establish the reported cases of HAI at specific intervals for instance every month.  The final activities of the plan involved the recording of the gathered data, analyzing it, and finally present it to the concerned parties.  

4. Based upon the data, how valid are the outcomes?

It can be said that the outcomes were well-founded considering that most of the stipulated long-term goals and objectives of hand hygiene programs were effectively attained based upon the data gathered.  For instance, it was observed that healthcare setups that observed and took hand-washing initiatives seriously reported a significant reduction in Healthcare Acquired Infections (HAI) estimated at 90% within the first year of practice. The same results were also observed from the infection control monitoring reports by hospitals practicing hand-washing initiatives.

Read More