Required Uniform Assignment: Topic Search Strategy Purpose

Required Uniform Assignment: Topic Search Strategy PURPOSE

The purpose of this assignment is to develop a comprehensive search strategy for identifying two research articles related to the evidence-based practice topic of "Preventing healthcare-associated infections." The paper will include a description of your clinical question, the levels of evidence, your search methodology, and the rationale for selecting the most relevant articles. Your paper should thoroughly cover your search terms, databases used, refinements made during the search process, and a detailed explanation of the evidence you found to answer your clinical question. Proper organization, clear headings, correct grammar, and adherence to APA format are required, with a length of three to four pages excluding the title and references.

Paper For Above instruction

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) represent a significant challenge within clinical settings, contributing to increased morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. Developing effective strategies to prevent HAIs is crucial to improving patient outcomes and ensuring safety. This paper outlines the search strategies employed to identify pertinent research articles related to preventing HAIs, articulating the clinical question, levels of evidence, the search process, and justification for the selected articles.

Introduction

Preventing healthcare-associated infections remains a priority in modern medicine due to their impact on patient safety and healthcare resources. To support evidence-based interventions, healthcare professionals must identify and critically appraise relevant research. This paper details the systematic approach used in the literature search, emphasizing how targeted search strategies can yield high-quality evidence to inform practice.

Clinical Question

The clinical issue addressed involves the effectiveness of educational interventions for healthcare workers in reducing HAIs through improved hand hygiene practices. The specific problem centers on high rates of HAIs, which prolong hospital stays and increase morbidity and costs. The significance of this problem is underscored by statistics indicating that approximately 1 in 25 hospitalized patients in the US acquire an HAI, with an associated 10% mortality rate among affected patients (Mitchell et al., 2017). The PICOT question guiding the search is: "In acute care settings, does education on hand hygiene practices among healthcare professionals, compared to no educational intervention, reduce the incidence of healthcare-associated infections?"

Levels of Evidence

The primary research question pertains to evaluating the effectiveness of educational interventions on hand hygiene compliance and HAI reduction. This question aligns with intervention-based research, typically addressed via quantitative studies. The strongest evidence identified comprises interventional studies, such as randomized controlled trials (RCTs), and quality improvement projects utilizing pre-and post-intervention assessments. These designs provide high-level evidence for causality, enabling clinicians to infer that educational interventions can significantly impact HAI rates (Luangasanatip et al., 2015). Level I evidence, based on systematic reviews and meta-analyses of RCTs, was prioritized to inform practice.

Search Strategy

The search commenced with defining key terms related to the clinical question: "healthcare-associated infections," "hand hygiene," "educational intervention," and "preventing infections." Combining Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms such as "Healthcare-Associated Infections," "Hand Hygiene," and "Health Education," facilitated precise retrieval of relevant studies. Databases used include PubMed, CINAHL, and Google Scholar, as recommended by the university library. The search was refined by applying filters for peer-reviewed articles, publication within the last five years, and English language.

Initial searches yielded broad results, prompting refinements by narrowing keywords ("hand hygiene compliance," "infection prevention education") and focusing on high-quality study designs such as RCTs and systematic reviews. The inclusion of Boolean operators (AND, OR) helped target specific aspects of the intervention and outcomes. The search process involved iterative adjustments to address gaps, filter irrelevant studies, and locate the most relevant evidence.

The two most relevant articles selected were based on their methodological rigor, relevance to the PICOT framework, and clarity in reporting outcomes. The first article was a systematic review of interventions promoting hand hygiene, while the second was an RCT evaluating an educational program among healthcare workers. These articles provided concrete data supporting the efficacy of education in reducing HAIs, aligning with the clinical question.

Conclusion

In sum, a structured search strategy involving targeted keywords, multiple databases, and systematic refinement effectively identified high-quality evidence related to preventing HAIs through educational interventions. The selected articles offer robust evidence supporting the role of education in improving hand hygiene compliance and reducing infection rates. This approach underscores the importance of meticulous search planning in evidence-based practice and guides future research and clinical application.

References

  • Luangasanatip, N., Hongsuwan, M., Limmathurotsakul, D., Lubell, Y., Lee, A. S., Harbarth, S., & Cooper, B. S. (2015). Comparative efficacy of interventions to promote hand hygiene in hospitals: a systematic review and network meta-analysis. BMJ, 351, h3728.
  • Mitchell, A., Boisvert, E., Wilson, T., & Hogan, S. (2017). Hand Hygiene—A Quality Improvement Project. Biomedical Journal of Scientific & Technical Research, 1(7).
  • World Health Organization. (2011). Report on the burden of endemic health care-associated infection worldwide. WHO Press.
  • Pittet, D., & Boyce, J. M. (2001). Hand hygiene and patient care: Critical role and unsafe practices. Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 22(5), 257–262.
  • Erasmus, V., et al. (2010). Systematic review of studies on compliance with hand hygiene guidelines in hospital care. Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 31(3), 283–294.
  • Huang, Y.-C., et al. (2019). Educational interventions to improve hand hygiene compliance: A systematic review. Journal of Hospital Infection, 101(4), 347–368.
  • Goodman, E., et al. (2017). Impact of Hand Hygiene Compliance and Associated Variables in Healthcare Settings. Journal of Infection Prevention, 18(4), 174–181.
  • WHO Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Health Care. (2009). World Health Organization.
  • Pittet, D., et al. (2000). Effectiveness of a hospital-wide programme to improve hand hygiene compliance. The Lancet, 356(9238), 1307–1312.
  • Allegranzi, B., et al. (2013). New WHO guidelines on hand hygiene in health care. American Journal of Infection Control, 41(5), S27–S56.

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