QUALITY CARE HANDWASHING

Quality Care Handwashing

[Name of the Writer]

[Name of the Institution]

Quality Care Handwashing

Q.1 Why hand washing is a quality care issue?

For years the healthcare industry has faced different challenges that impede effective delivery of healthcare (Jones et.al, 2017). One of these challenges is hand washing. Hand washing holds a central position in any health care setup. Numerous healthcare professionals are working in the healthcare industry. Off all the professional, nurses play a significant role in ensuring the delivery of quality healthcare services to the clients. Hand washing has been a quality care issue because failing to ensure hygiene by hand washing can result in the spread of infectious diseases (Jones et.al, 2017). If the nurses fail to ensure proper handwashing after treating a client, they can place the safety of other clients at a major risk. Moreover, nurses by washing hands after administering treatment to the clients curb the spread of different infectious diseases (Jones et.al, 2017). Every year many clients succumb to nosocomial infections. In the United States alone, more than 99,000 patients die after contracting nosocomial infections (Jones et.al, 2017). Considering these figures, it is clear that hand washing is an important quality care issue (Jones et.al, 2017).

Q.2 How a nurse can contribute to improvement in handwashing if it existed in their workplace?

The healthcare industry has numerous professionals working in it. However, the importance of nurses in delivering quality healthcare services cannot be understated (Smiddy, O'Connell & Creedon, 2015). There are many ways in which a nurse can contribute to quality healthcare. Some of the following suggestions can help a nurse in any healthcare setup to ensure that they do not become the epicenter of nosocomial infections. For instance, by washing hands at both the beginning and at the end of the shift, nurses can ensure the delivery of quality care (Smiddy, O'Connell & Creedon, 2015). Furthermore, before and after touching a patient, nurses should wash hands. Additionally, some of the guidelines laid down by the WHO can guide nurses in delivering effective and quality healthcare. For instance, nurses must initiate hand washing by making their hands wet (Smiddy, O'Connell & Creedon, 2015). Next, they should apply a sufficient amount of soap and rub hands thoroughly. Moreover, nurses must make sure they are wearing gloves at all times and change them whenever needed (Smiddy, O'Connell & Creedon, 2015).

References

Jones, D., Martello, M., Biron, A., & Lavoie‐Tremblay, M. (2017). A systematic review on the effectiveness of interventions to improve hand hygiene compliance of nurses in the hospital setting. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 49(2), 143-152.

Smiddy, M. P., O'Connell, R., & Creedon, S. A. (2015). Systematic qualitative literature review of health care workers' compliance with hand hygiene guidelines. American journal of infection control, 43(3), 269-274.