Contributions to Nursing Assignment Sample
Health associated infections (HAI) have been a global concern for many epochs. Despite its endurance, the fights against the infections have not been completely achieved. The continued existence can be attributed to various factors. The emergence of antibiotic resistant microbes such as Vancomycin resistant enterococci contributes to the rising HAI (Reid, Sheehy & Jabbour, 2018). Additional factors include immunodeficiency, prolonged hospital stay greater than 30-days, poor hand hygiene adherences, poor understanding of the modes of transmission and frequent use of antibiotics (Reid et al., 2018). Even though the infections are a global health concern, they are more significant to developing countries which have limited finances and knowledge on the transmission and pathology of the infections.
Contributions to Nursing Practice and Profession
Nosocomial infections are associated with both negative and positive impacts on the nursing profession. The negative effects however, overwhelm the positive impacts. The infections cause significant worldwide mortality estimated to be round 10% (Sikora & Zahra, 2020). A greater financial burden has been reported. Studies in the United States provide estimates of about $9.8 billion in acute adult care settings, and an annual cost between $28 billion to $45 billion (Sikora & Zahra, 2020). Recently, a relevant example of the health associated infections is the coronavirus.
Being that nurses are on the frontline in the care delivery, they are at risk of contacting the infections (Chen, Lai & Tsay, 2020). Psychological reactions such as fear of the infections, anxiety, worry, uncertainty and panic have overwhelmed the healthcare system (Chen et al., 2020). Adverse consequences such as death of healthcare workers have also been reported (Chen et al., 2020).
Despite the negative repercussions of HAI, the infections have spurred the quest for preventative interventions. Nurses have been on the frontline in the fights against the infections through screening, and observing standard precautions such as hand washing, use of personal protective equipment, disinfections and implementation of isolation centers (Li et al., 2017)). Further, HAI has steered research in treatment and prevention of the infections. In addition to the nosocomial infection surveillance systems, reduced infection rates have been reported.
References
- Chen, S., Lai, Y., & Tsay, S. (2020). Nursing Perspectives on the Impacts of COVID-19. Journal Of Nursing Research, 28(3), e85. https://doi.org/10.1097/nrj.0000000000000389
- Li, Y., Gong, Z., Lu, Y., Hu, G., Cai, R., & Chen, Z. (2017). Impact of nosocomial infections surveillance on nosocomial infection rates: A systematic review. International Journal Of Surgery, 42, 164-169. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsu.2017.04.065
- Reid, R., Sheehy, C., & Jabbour, L. (2018). Risk Factors and Interventions Against Nosocomial Infections Across MultipleAfrican Coutries: A Systematic Review. Cientperiodique.com. Retrieved 20 January 2021, from https://www.cientperiodique.com/article/CPQME-2-2-46.pdf.
- Sikora, A., & Zahra, F. (2020). Nosocomial Infections. Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 20 January 2021, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK559312/.