Kenyatta National Hospital’s Safety Measures for Protection (Research Proposal Sample)

Resilience Strategies during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study of Kenyatta National Hospital’s Safety Measures for Protection of Health Care Workers
CONTENTS TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u ABSTRACT PAGEREF _Toc46222680 \h 5CHAPTER ONE PAGEREF _Toc46222681 \h 6INTRODUCTION PAGEREF _Toc46222682 \h 61.0 Introduction PAGEREF _Toc46222683 \h 61.1 Background of the Study PAGEREF _Toc46222684 \h 71.2Problem Statement PAGEREF _Toc46222685 \h 81.3Purpose of Study PAGEREF _Toc46222686 \h 91.4Research Objectives PAGEREF _Toc46222687 \h 101.5Research Questions PAGEREF _Toc46222688 \h 101.6Justification/rationale of the Study PAGEREF _Toc46222689 \h 101.7 Significance of the Study PAGEREF _Toc46222690 \h 111.8 Assumptions of the study PAGEREF _Toc46222691 \h 111.9 Limitations and delimitations of the study PAGEREF _Toc46222692 \h 121.10 Scope of the study PAGEREF _Toc46222693 \h 121.11 Definition of terms PAGEREF _Toc46222694 \h 121.12 Summary PAGEREF _Toc46222695 \h 13CHAPTER TWO PAGEREF _Toc46222696 \h 14LITERATURE REVIEW PAGEREF _Toc46222697 \h 142.1 Introduction PAGEREF _Toc46222698 \h 142.1.1 Communication of COVID-9 Information PAGEREF _Toc46222699 \h 142.1.2 Healthcare Workers Support/Empowerment PAGEREF _Toc46222700 \h 152.1.3 Resources/Equipment for COVID-19 Management PAGEREF _Toc46222701 \h 152.1.4 Handling of infected Healthcare Workers PAGEREF _Toc46222702 \h 162.2 Theoretical orientation PAGEREF _Toc46222703 \h 17Resilience Theory PAGEREF _Toc46222704 \h 172.3 Theoretical framework PAGEREF _Toc46222705 \h 192.4 Summary PAGEREF _Toc46222706 \h 20CHAPTER THREE PAGEREF _Toc46222707 \h 21METHODOLOGY PAGEREF _Toc46222708 \h 213.1 Introduction PAGEREF _Toc46222709 \h 213.2 Research design PAGEREF _Toc46222710 \h 213.3. Population PAGEREF _Toc46222711 \h 223.4 Sample Size PAGEREF _Toc46222712 \h 223.5 Sampling procedure PAGEREF _Toc46222713 \h 223.7. Data collection procedure PAGEREF _Toc46222714 \h 243.8 Questionnaire Pretest/Pilot test PAGEREF _Toc46222715 \h 243.9 Ethical considerations PAGEREF _Toc46222716 \h 243.10 Data analysis and Presentation PAGEREF _Toc46222717 \h 25REFERENCES PAGEREF _Toc46222718 \h 26APPENDICES PAGEREF _Toc46222719 \h 29Appendix I: Time Schedule PAGEREF _Toc46222720 \h 29Appendix II: Questionnaire PAGEREF _Toc46222721 \h 30SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE PAGEREF _Toc46222722 \h 30Appendix III: Informed Consent Letter PAGEREF _Toc46222723 \h 33
ABSTRACT
The aim of this research is to determine the resilience strategies implemented at Kenyatta National Hospital to improve safety of healthcare workers that care for and serve COVID-19 patients at the referral isolation centre. Two theories, resilience and adversity quotient theories, will inform variables selection and analysis. As a quantitative research, the investigation will employ survey questionnaires to collect numerical data from the sampled participants. Convenience sampling will be used to collect data from healthcare personnel at the time when they are available and can answer the simple survey questions. The numerical data will then be analysed using statistical software (SPSS). Correlation coefficients will be used to test the strength and direction of the variables under study. Tables, graphs and charts will be used to present the results.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.0 Introduction
Policymakers in various parts of the world are currently seeking the appropriate levers to pull for the global economy to recover from shocks caused by COVID-19. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, 2020) describes COVID-19 as the first worldwide coronavirus-based pandemic with considerable health losses and interruptions to the global economy. With this pandemic, different countries can now recognize fragility within the fundamental systems that depend on human power. Factors such as masks shortages, inadequate test centres and ventilators, among others have left the health practitioners and the human population exposed to the virus. The study by Wu, Connons and Everly (2020) quoted a physician from Milan referring to COVID-19 as a situation beyond understanding. According to the report, handling the disease proved difficult due to shortage of ventilators, unclear ethical guidelines concerning the patients to intubate, inadequate gloves and masks, and exhaustion.
The ability of health care systems to manage COVID-19 is a matter of concern. OECD (2020) referred to simulations by Ferguson and colleagues that predicted the possibility of health service in the United Kingdom being overwhelmed. Without proper action, the UK would lose about 500,000 lives. Simulations on COVID-19 transmission in the United States also projected 2.2 million cases of death in absence of appropriate measures. These predictions necessitated launch of social distancing and limitation of social movement. OECD is aware of national governments’ struggle to address the shock resulting from this pandemic and has offered a response to assist with immediate issues while promoting preparation for long-term concerns. The short-term strategies include identification of populations and processes adversely impacted and determining the effect of mitigation steps on other people. The trade-offs among social, health and economic objectives is also essential. For the longer term, effectiveness of policies is developed through investigation of systemic foundations and aftermath of greater shocks. This study focuses on the short-term resilience strategies employed by Kenya’s Kenyatta National Hospital to reduce exposure of workers to the virus.
1.1 Background of the Study
Immediately the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Covid-19 a pandemic, the disease gained a global presence. The New Approaches to Economic Challenges (NAEC) Group used the example of COVID-19 spread during their March 2020 conference to illustrate to policymakers that the world we live in is not linear. NAEC also indicated that actions no longer result in predictable responses because the present world is different from that of Newtonians (OECD, 2020). The current world, according to NAEC, is a portion of the sophisticated economic, socio-political and environmental structures that humans reconfigure and which constantly affects them. The complex interconnection of systems can amplify a small change in such a way that the eventual outcome by far exceeds the place, scale and time of the initial agitation. According to OECD (2020), COVID-19 reveals how cultural elements such as reliance on institutions and adhering to guidelines they offer as well as communal membership determine spread of a disaster.
The National Academy of Medicine (2020) listed the guidelines care leaders should implement to improve wellbeing of health care providers. The first strategy is to communicate the proper actions. This include managing expectations, engaging work schedules that encourage resilience, promoting self-care, including breaks when planning the working hours, availing the necessary resources (e.g. masks, gowns, cleaning supplies, hand sanitizer, gloves, etc.) and equipment. Secondly, there should be ways of monitoring and ensuring wellbeing of caregivers. Services such as mental health maintenance and counselling are required. Thirdly, the clinicians need a work environment that is psychologically safe enabling them to freely talk about their vulnerability, burnout, stress and other factors that they see as obstacles to their welfare. Fourth, health managers should collaborate and cooperate with teams of health care personnel. Next, there should be central access points where all the health professionals can access updates on tools, techniques and information for handling COVID-19. Lastly, in case the clinicians contract COVID-19 at workplace they should be compensated, rehabilitated and provided with appropriate curative services.
Wu et al. (2020) also had three fundamental strategies for healthcare systems. One, the leadership must value resilience. In times of crises, management’s efficacy lies in its ability to develop comprehensible vision and feasible plans, and facilitate effective communication. Showing gratitude to the workers is also a duty that leaders should perform. Two, structuring of communication should go beyond provision of information to empower workers. Availability of relevant up-to-date information minimizes anxiety cause by imagination and rush during worst cases. Additional information should guide health care workers on actions to take for self-care. Three, management should prepare resources for dealing with mental health cases among the health care professionals. Activities such as establishment of peer support teams are helpful in offering first aid in psychological situations. Also, the workers should be encouraged to express their feelings, promote individual wellness, and recognize support resources.
Kenya’s government is also putting extra effort in mobilising financial resources, expanding the capacity of local manufacturers, and safeguarding the vulnerable groups (Murumba, 2020). Sufficiency of financial resources is critical for short-term responses. Due to interruptions supply and demand flows, medical personnel in the frontline often faces shortage of personal protective equipment. This increases their exposure to COVID-19 heightening the chances of contracting and spreading the virus. Provision of the protective equipment is thus crucial in improving the capacity of health institutions. To address this the government used part of the $3.1 million mobilised by partners of the United Nations (UNDP, 2020), to procure personal protective equipment which health facilities require and deploy trained/experienced medical practitioners to various counties.
1 Problem Statement
Provision of...