Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections (Essay Sample)

Running head: Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections
Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections
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Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections
Abstract
Catheter-associated urinary tract infection contributes to a significant percentage of the most occurring health care related infections in the critical care setting. This research proposal intends to employ a quasi-experimental research design that will include a multiple of interventions to combat the incidences of CAUTI.
Theoretical Framework
Urinary tract infections have an estimated prevalence of 1%-10%, this standing for 30%-40% among the nosocomial infections. They are mainly acquired in hospitals. The presence of urinary catheter is the major risk factor associated with progression of urinary tract infections (Garrouste et al. 2008). A framework for a spread will be adopted to serve as a conceptual framework for this specific study. The key ground for adopting a framework for a spread was for the development and implementation of a method to spread positive change outside and within a healthcare organization (Massoud et. al, 2006).
The work of Rogers (1995) on Diffusion and Innovations provides the basis for the framework of spread. Rogers (1995) proposes that the communication, spread and adoption of innovations may take a lengthy time. This spread needs acceleration for the purpose of benefiting others sooner. For a successful framework of spread, a number of points must exist. This include a target population, acknowledgment by leadership to support the improvement, a completion time frame, aim for spread, measurement improvement method, spread of encouragement to others by the early adopters, a communication plan, method for carrying the results to other places, and a feedback provision mechanism (Massoud et. al, 2006).
Methodology
Study Setting and Sample
This study intends to make use of the university hospital. The facility has trained nurses who will help in data collection. The sample size to be used will be 500 newly catheterized patients. The university facility also has modern equipment that will help in the completion of this research. This study will employ two sample groups: a pre-intervention comparison group and an intervention group. Patients presenting urinary catheters for the first quarter fiscal year 2014 will constitute the comparison group. Patients presenting urinary catheters in the first quarter fiscal year 2015 will constitute the intervention group. The reason for using the first quarters for both years is for the purpose of equivalent comparison groups since the characteristics of the critical care population at the university hospital are cyclical with regard to patient diagnoses and volumes. Elimination of selection bias will be done by incorporating all patients presenting indwelling catheters in the research, who did not present with a UTI when commencing the research. The exclusion criteria for the research will include patients less than 18 years who were admitted to the CCU, patients with no indwelling catheters, or those who developed a UTI prior to commencement of the research or had been admitted with a UTI (NHSN, 2003a). Moreover, exclusion also covered patients with intermittent characterization or those with suprapubic.
Sampling Strategy
The number of catheter days will serve as the basis for the sample size for patients jointly and the resultant CAUTI incidence rate. The catheter days is found by enumerating the patients' number with urinary catheters in place every day of the week during similar time of the day; and adding each numbers of the day to find a monthly total (NHSN, 2003b). This sampling strategy is employed to account for the discrepancy in population sizes every month in the critical care unit when contrasting the occurrence of CAUTIs over time (CDCP, 2012). The CAUTI incidence rate will be the measured outcome variable. The NHSN (2003a) formula will be used to compute the CAUTI incidence rate. The formula is given by: the number of new CAUTIs divided by the total number of catheter days multiplied by1000 for each of the pre- and post study time periods
NHSN formula=CAUTISCATH DAYS×1000=RATE
Study Design
This research intends to employ the quasi-experimental design in the comparison of CAUTI pre-intervention incidence rates with the CAUTI post-intervention rates. Bedside checklist and prevention bundle will constitute the intervention. A...