Introduction and Thesis Statement
The PICOT statement helps researchers to focus an intervention to a clinical problem or issue that affect patient outcomes. Use of PICOT framework is encouraged because it assists researchers to think precisely about the various aspects of what they want to investigate. An individual must be specific regarding various aspects required when formulating a PICOT. The clinical problem/issue identified in the current project is the high rate of hospital-acquired infections in intensive care settings. Although many interventions to address the issue are available, hand hygiene is the most effective approach in preventing infections acquired in the course of receiving care in the ICU.
Identification of Clinical Problem/Issue
It is important to identify a clinical problem/issue that can be researched. The clinical problem being researched is the high rate of hospital-acquired infections among ICU patients in health care facilities. Research reveals a high prevalence of HAIs, especially among patients receiving care in the ICU (Cornejo-Juárez et al., 2015). The problem has a high cost borne by patients and healthcare facilities due to extended hospitalization. Therefore, it is necessary to implement effective interventions to solve the issue and improve patient outcomes.
The stated clinical issue is informed by evidence from research. The proposed solution to address the issue of HAIs is hand wash hygiene compared with failure to comply with the practice when caring for patients. The nursing intervention includes effective handwashing practices with disinfectants to prevent the transmission of infections from the nurses’ hands to the patient. For handwashing to be effective, it needs to be accompanied by the use of antimicrobial soap such as hand rubs concentrated with alcohol (Kravitz, 2009). The issue of patient care is directly related to the problem because hospital-acquired infections affect the health of patients. Health providers interact directly with patients, and thus these acquired infections can be transmitted to patients, which interfere with their recovery. It is the responsibility of health providers to create a healthy environment for patients that is void of infections. Education will be part of the intervention to promote hand hygiene compliance. Prevention of HAIs will improve patient care at the hospital’s intensive care unit.
Health care agency and nursing practice have also been covered in the PICOT statement. Research on the problem shows that bodies, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), have established universal precautions, which inhibit the transmission of pathogens found in body fluids when offering first aid among other health services (Robinson et al., 2016). Therefore, the nursing practice involves patient care, which is contributed by ensuring high standards of hygiene at the hospital. Nurses are educated to wash their hands while at the hospital. Hand hygiene will improve nursing practice by creating a culture of hand hygiene compliance to prevent HAIs.
PICOT Statement Focused on Resolution, Improvement, Application, and Intervention
The PICOT statement, in this case, involves the proposed solution to the problem of HAIs and the improvement of patient care through hand hygiene compliance. The application of the solution will be in a hospital’s intensive care unit. The intervention will be an education program to improve hand hygiene compliance within the setting.
PICOT Statement Including Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes, and Time
In many hospital scenarios, hand wand washing is encouraged to enhance the hygiene of the setting. Therefore, a probable research question would be; is washing one’s hands within the health facility helps in reducing acquired infections? The PICOT statement can be broken down into its respective parts: ‘P’ is the population being studied is the patients hospitalized in the hospital’s ICU. ‘I’ is the intervention for the problem, which is a program to promote handwashing and hygiene among nurses working in the ICU. ‘C’ is the comparison, which is the lack of hand hygiene in the ICU. ‘O’ is the outcome, which is a reduction in the rate of HIAs following hand hygiene compliance (Foddai, Grant, & Dean, 2016). Finally, ‘T’ is the timeframe, which is one month following the completion of the education program and improvement in hand hygiene compliance.
Conclusion
The selected PICOT question is whether hand washing by health providers when on duty helps to reduce hospital-related infections. The statement is evidence-based because it gives room for one to conduct comprehensive research to solve the identified clinical problem. Moreover, it incorporates nursing intervention and patient care in an attempt to enhance patient outcome.
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