Capstone Week 4

2

Handwashing Training to Curb the Spread of Covid 19 In Health Care Facility

John Watkins

Grand Canyon University: NRS-493-0505

Instructor: Bartholomew Chris

10 /17/2021

Measurable Outcomes

This capstone change project proposal considered handwashing training the most reliable healthcare intervention in helping curb the spread of COVID-19 in healthcare facilities because of its benefits. Unlike other healthcare interventions that do not offer measurable outcomes during their application, handwashing is an intervention used in healthcare organizations by teaching the healthcare staff will yield significant measurable outcomes. A good healthcare intervention should have measurable outcomes to help motivate the implementation process of the intervention. Therefore, handwashing as a healthcare intervention in mitigating the spread of coronavirus disease has the following measurable outcomes when used in healthcare facilities. The outcomes include improved hygiene in the healthcare facility, a reduction in the rate of spread of COVID-19, a reduction in the mortality rate, increased awareness of the intervention among patients, and Improved patient outcomes.

Improved Hygiene in the Healthcare Facility

Handwashing is training in a healthcare facility that will help in improving hygiene in the healthcare facility. In a healthcare facility, hand hygiene is one of the most reliable interventions that can help in reducing the spread of COVID-19, among other infections (Vermeil et al., 2019). Healthcare professionals interact with many tools and equipment during their normal duties in the healthcare organization. For instance, a healthcare professional can interact with a patient, and in the process, they support the patient by holding them. Such a healthcare professional must wash their hands to ensure that they maintain the health facility's hygiene. This outcome can be evident after one week. This period allows the healthcare facility to measure the level of hygiene in the healthcare facility in relation to the application of the intervention. The rationale of this outcome is to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other infections that can be transferred the same way as COVID-19. Such infections include cholera and typhoid. Achieving good hygiene will help in achieving the healthcare objective of mitigating the spread of COVID-19.

A reduction in the Rate of Spread of Covid-19

A reduction in the spread of COVID-19 is also an outcome that can be achieved when a handwashing training intervention is implemented in a healthcare facility. During the emergence of COVID-19, there were little interventions in helping to curb the spread of COVID-19. Many people died of the virus due to proper guidelines by the healthcare sector on how to prevent its spread. However, through the introduction of handwashing, healthcare facilities have managed to realize a change in the rate of spread of the virus. Therefore, the effectiveness of handwashing can be measured through the rate of spread of the virus. A lower rate of spread of COVID-19 is an indication that handwashing intervention is effective (Liu et al., 2021). The measurement of the results can be observed after one week of handwashing in a healthcare facility. The rationale of this outcome is to minimize the high rate of COVID-19 spread that can result in a healthcare organization due to proper interventions such as embracing handwashing.

A reduction in the Rate of Mortality Rate

The mortality rate resulting from COVID-19 can present a worrying trend if proper interventions are not enforced by a healthcare facility (Bertsimas et al., 2020). To curb the spread of COVID-19, the healthcare sector has often kept track of the trend in the mortality rate. Some patients who happen to have other infections are at a high risk of getting COVID-19, especially when they visit healthcare facilities that have no handwashing interventions in helping to curb the spread of corona virus disease. Healthcare professionals also get infected with the virus and eventually die. However, handwashing training can reduce the mortality rate resulting from COVID-19, hence achieving a high quality of care. When patients and healthcare professionals wash their hands regularly, the rate of spread will reduce hence reducing the rate of mortality resulting from COVID-19. The rationale of this outcome is to mitigate the mortality rate that results from COVID-19. A high mortality rate resulting from COVID-19 compromises the effort of healthcare professionals in curbing the spread of the virus.

Increased Awareness of the Intervention Among Patients

Lack of awareness in healthcare facilities on the significance of handwashing contributes to the high rate of COVID-19 spread in the healthcare facility. There is a need for all healthcare professionals to be sensitized on the significance of embracing handwashing to help mitigate the spread of the virus. Creating awareness through training of the staff in the healthcare organization can help emphasize the importance of handwashing in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19. This outcome can help healthcare professionals and patients who seek medical attention in the healthcare facility. Therefore, enforcing handwashing in a healthcare facility will help sensitize the healthcare professionals on installing many handwashing points in the healthcare facility due to a high number of people going in the healthcare organization (Sharma et al., 2021). The rationale of this measurable outcome is to sensitize healthcare professionals and patients on the significance of handwashing. Patients who do not embrace handwashing at their homes can implement the initiative when sensitized in the healthcare facility.

Improved Patient Outcomes.

The primary objective of any healthcare facility is to realize improved patient outcomes (Land et al., 2019). Improved patient outcomes through minimizing the spread of COVID-19 is an intervention which help a healthcare facility to realize its objective. This goal can only be achieved if effective interventions are well implemented. Therefore, in the fight against COVID-19, handwashing is one of the interventions that can help achieve improved patient outcomes when implemented. Proper handwashing in the healthcare facility will help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and help prevent the spread of other diseases such as cholera, flu, and cold. This outcome can be realized by the healthcare facility after one week. This outcome also motivates healthcare professionals to provide quality health services to patients. The rationale of this outcome is to help achieve quality patient outcomes. Minimizing the spread of COVID-19 through handwashing helps in realizing improved patient outcomes in a healthcare facility.

References

Bertsimas, D., Lukin, G., Mingardi, L., Nohadani, O., Orfanoudaki, A., Stellato, B., ... & Hellenic COVID-19 Study Group. (2020). COVID-19 mortality risk assessment: An international multi-center study. PloS one, 15(12), e0243262.

Land, K. J., Boeras, D. I., Chen, X. S., Ramsay, A. R., & Peeling, R. W. (2019). REASSURED diagnostics to inform disease control strategies, strengthen health systems and improve patient outcomes. Nature microbiology, 4(1), 46-54.

Liu, X., Huang, J., Li, C., Zhao, Y., Wang, D., Huang, Z., & Yang, K. (2021). The role of seasonality in the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Environmental Research, 195, 110874.

Sharma, M., Batra, K., Davis, R. E., & Wilkerson, A. H. (2021, January). Explaining handwashing behavior in a sample of college students during COVID-19 pandemic using the multi-theory model (MTM) of health behavior change: a single institutional cross-sectional survey. In Healthcare (Vol. 9, No. 1, p. 55). Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute.

Vermeil, T., Peters, A., Kilpatrick, C., Pires, D., Allegranzi, B., & Pittet, D. (2019). Hand hygiene in hospitals: anatomy of a revolution. Journal of Hospital Infection, 101(4), 383-392.