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Running head: RESEARCH PAPER 1

RESEARCH PAPER 6

HOSPITAL-ACQUIRED INFECTIONS AMONG PATIENTS in hospitals in florida?

(Qualitative Study)

Dayana Lewandowski

Florida International University

HSA 6977

Dr. Mariceli Comellas

May 17, 2020

Background Information

Explain overall what the problem is? Statistics in the usa, in the usa there are 4574 hospitalizations due to the infections acquired in hospitals, use citations and use government websites. Download research guidelines.

1.The objective of the study is.

2. results of the study

3.connect that study with your study and how ur study fills in the gap of that study

“citation”Hospital-acquired infection, otherwise known as nosocomial diseases are a common problem that affects many healthcare institutions around the world. Such diseases are not only a burden to healthcare institutions but also the patients served. The total costs associated with the management of hospital-acquired infections have constantly been rising despite the implementation of many intervention policies, (Khan, Baig, & Mehboob, 2017). The government has formulated various nursing intervention policies through various federal and state departments to resolve the issues of nosocomial infections. However, many of these interventions have barely led to a permanent solution. Hospitals and patients are still incurring huge costs as a result of hospital-acquired infections. Hospitals are often subjected to expensive litigation procedures whenever patients contract infections while admitted.

On the other hand, patients are sometimes required to spend more on treatment after contracting infections while admitted in various healthcare institutions. In the University of Miami Hospital, for instance, operational costs have been increasing annually mainly because the hospital has to deal with many nosocomial infections annually, (Chang, 2017). A similar scenario is noted among healthcare institutions operating in the Southern Florida region. While this problem has been identified and discussed a lot, not much attention has been directed to dissect the most affected persons. People with pre-existing chronic diseases such as arthritis, diabetes, and asthma are more susceptible to nosocomial infections compared to people who do not have pre-existing chronic illnesses.

Problem Statement

Pre-existing chronic illnesses increase the risk of opportunistic illnesses and infections. For instance, diabetes type I affects immunity hence diabetic people have greater risks, (Casqueiro, Casqueiro, & Alves, 2012). Healthcare practitioners, as well as patients, are at risk of contracting nosocomial infections, especially when they have pre-existing chronic diseases. “Add citations”Past research indicates that the majority of persons who are severely affected by hospital-acquired infections have pre-existing conditions. Many healthcare institutions in the Southern Florida region have high cases of nosocomial infections because pre-existing conditions among nurses are often not considered during the hiring and also during the admission of patients.

Nurse practitioners tasked with extending care services to patients in various wards including ICUs often contract nosocomial infections. A nurse practitioner who has a pre-existing chronic illness such as diabetes type I is more susceptible to nosocomial infection than other nurses. The same case applies to patients admitted to hospital with pre-existing chronic conditions. Similarly, asthmatic people are more susceptible to infections that affect the respiratory system. Although people with pre-existing chronic illnesses are more susceptible to hospital-acquired infections, not much has been done to develop specific intervention measures for this group of people, (Klompas, 2017). For this reason, research is needed to identify the extent to which hospital-acquired infections affect persons with pre-existing chronic illnesses.

Significance of the study

How the reader, why this program of acquiring infections research is going to help society?

Significance of the study (cost $$ or loss of life morbidity, loss of productivity)

“Citations”Nursing research has in the past been used to develop appropriate interventions to resolve various problems in the healthcare sector. (Why is it important)Therefore, research on the prevalence of hospital-acquired infections among patients diagnosed with chronic diseases is important to identify intervention measures that could be formulated to address the problem. Also, research on the identified problem will fill existing knowledge gaps that affect the quality of healthcare services extended to patients diagnosed with chronic diseases. More so, the research will help to identify appropriate measures that could be used to reduce the financial burden among admitted patients diagnosed with chronic diseases. The prevalence of nosocomial infections among patients and healthcare professionals’ diagnosed living with various chronic illnesses is much higher than the prevalence among patients and healthcare professionals who do not have pre-existing chronic conditions. Therefore, it is necessary to undertake research that focuses on the specific group of people to better understand which nursing interventions would be most appropriate.

Hospitals acquired infections in hospitals in the US

Review of Literature

Although all patients are exposed to nosocomial infection during their stay in various healthcare institutions, recent studies indicate a high prevalence among patients diagnosed with chronic illnesses. Chronic illnesses often weaken immunity thus exposing patients to many opportunistic infections and diseases. For instance, a hyperglycemic environment triggers immune dysfunction among diabetic patients thus exposing them to frequent infections that are in some cases very severe, (Casqueiro, et.al.,2012). In another study, Kirchgesner et.al., (2018) found that patients with chronic inflammatory bowel disease often suffer a great deal due to the high susceptibility to nosocomial infections. For instance, catheters used have been identified to increase the prevalence of hospital-acquired infections among IBD patients. Similarly, patients who have pre-existing asthmatic conditions often contract pneumonia while admitted to the hospital. However, (continue argument) very few studies have looked into assessing hospital based infections among patients in florida.

In a recent study, Klompas (2017) discovered that ventilators used in ICUs are often the cause of nosocomial infections among asthmatic patients. Hygiene compliance policies have been formulated and prevented to reduce the prevalence of nosocomial infections in the past. However, implementing hygiene standards as a preventive measure does not alleviate the problem among persons diagnosed with chronic conditions, (Smythe, et.al., 2016). A lot of research about hospital-acquired infections has been conducted in the past but very few studies have focused exclusively on a population of persons with chronic illnesses. A knowledge gap is identified from the literature reviewed, thus research on the topic is necessary. According to Chang (2017), the University of Miami Hospital is among the most affected healthcare institutions in the Southern Florida region. (Add more content)

Methodology

The proposed study will adopt a qualitative research design to explore the prevalence of hospital-acquired infections among patients diagnosed with chronic illnesses. An exploratory study will pave the way for further research on the same topic in the future, (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). Therefore, a synthesis of existing literature materials will be conducted to gain meaningful insights into the topic. The literature sources selected for the qualitative synthesis must cover main concepts such as the prevalence of nosocomial infections and chronic diseases. Focusing on these concepts will ensure that the data collected can be used to answer research questions and consequently fill the existing knowledge gaps. The sample population will comprise of patients and nurses admitted and working, respectively, at Miami University Hospital. Research participants must have a pre-existing chronic illness and a history of nosocomial infections in the last 3 years. Also, the research will mainly rely on secondary data collected in previous studies. Utilizing secondary data saves time and costs associated with collecting primary data.

In conclusion, patients diagnosed with chronic illnesses are more susceptible to nosocomial infections. However, not much has been done on this topic hence a lack of effective intervention measures to alleviate the problem. The existing interventions do not adequately cover the problems endured by patients who contract nosocomial infections easily due to pre-existing chronic illnesses. As such, the proposed study is meant to address this problem.

References

Casqueiro, J., Casqueiro, J., & Alves, C. (2012). Infections in patients with diabetes mellitus: A review of pathogenesis. Indian journal of endocrinology and metabolism, 16(Suppl1), S27. DOI: 10.4103/2230-8210.94253

Chang, D. (2017). UM Hospital can’t stop bleeding money as costs soar and admissions drop. Miami Herald. Retrieved from https://www.miamiherald.com/news/health-care/article186714813.html

Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approach. Los Angeles: SAGE.

Kirchgesner, J., Lemaitre, M., Carrat, F., Zureik, M., Carbonnel, F., & Dray-Spira, R. (2018). Risk of serious and opportunistic infections associated with the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases. Gastroenterology, 155(2), 337-346. https://doi.org/10.1053/j.gastro.2018.04.012

Klompas, M. (2017). What is new in the prevention of nosocomial pneumonia in the ICU?. Current opinion in critical care, 23(5), 378-384. DOI: 10.1097/MCC.0000000000000443

Khan, H. A., Baig, F. K., & Mehboob, R. (2017). Nosocomial infections: Epidemiology, prevention, control, and surveillance. Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine, 7(5), 478-482. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apjtb.2017.01.019

Smythe, W., Engelbrecht, H., Morris, V., Patel, B., & McDonald, H. (2016). A multifaceted hospital-wide intervention increases hand hygiene compliance: in practice. African Journal of Health Professions Education, 106(4), 335-341.