Health Risk Behaviors, Reaction Paper Example

Introduction

Many behaviors pose a risk to health in the healthcare setting, such as a failure to apply effective hand hygiene after working with patients, which poses a risk to these patients and other employees. Nursing hygiene is critical to the success of healthcare practice, as it provides greater evidence of the benefits that are acquired through successful hand washing techniques on a regular basis. It also demonstrates the importance of a successful protocol that is necessary to support the needs of patients and in achieving successful quality of care at all times. This process requires nurses to effectively adhere to all required hand hygiene protocols in order to achieve the desired results and to be successful in supporting patients in the best possible manner.

Analysis

Evidence-based approaches to hand hygiene require nurses to understand the risks associated with poor hand hygiene and how it may contribute to the risk of infection in patients. This process also supports the continued growth and development of practice settings that will have a positive impact on patient care outcomes. The promotion of hand hygiene requires nurse to be proactive in this behavior so that they do not pose a risk to patients at any time (Huis et.al, 2011). This behavior is also proven to prevent the spread of hospital-acquired infections in patients who otherwise might be at risk; as a result, nurses must be compliant with these behaviors at all times to ensure that patients are protected from unnecessary risks in this manner (Huis et.al, 2011).

Different interventions have been explored in prior studies as a means of addressing hand hygiene in patients, and this requires the development of new protocols to improve hand hygiene-related compliance and its impact on minimizing the spread of hospital-acquired infections (Gould et.al, 2010). These factors support the continued growth and development of key principles that will enable nurses to comply with these regulations at all times and to be successful in improving patient care quality (Gould et.al, 2010). Hand hygiene requires an effective understanding of the risks that are associated with non-compliance so that all possible ideas are explored that will have a positive impact on patients (Gould et.al, 2010).

Nursing-based strategies and protocols must be considered that will provide a basis for exploring hand hygiene procedures that reduce the risk of infection in patients (Huis et.al, 2013). Strategies that involve education, feedback, and leadership have been proven effective in addressing hand hygiene in nursing staff; therefore, these protocols must be considered for their value and contribution to support the success of patient care (Huis et.al, 2013). Nurses who comply with these regulations are also likely to respond to interventions such call systems that monitor specific interactions with patients (de Macedo et.al, 2012). This method is likely to have a favorable impact on patient care outcomes and also on the development of new procedures that encourage ongoing effectiveness of hand hygiene protocols over time (de Macedo et.al, 2012).

Conclusion

The implementation of hand hygiene protocols for nurses must be strictly followed in order to achieve the desired outcomes for patients. This is an important reminder that hand hygiene is one of the most important tools that is associated with the prevention of hospital-acquired infections. Hand hygiene requires an effective approach so that nurses are able to exercise a strong level of compliance to protect their patients from unnecessary risks that could further jeopardize their health during hospitalization. This procedure is essential to the discovery of new strategies that will improve patient care outcomes and enable nurses to exercise responsible behaviors with their patients.

References

de Macedo, R. D. C. R., Oliveira Jacob, E. M., da Silva, V. P., Santana, E. A., de Souza, A. F., Gonçalves, P., … & Edmond, M. B. (2012). Positive deviance: Using a nurse call system to evaluate hand hygiene practices. American journal of infection control, 40(10), 946-950.

Gould, D. J., Moralejo, D., Drey, N., & Chudleigh, J. H. (2010). Interventions to improve hand hygiene compliance in patient care. Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 9.

Huis, A., Holleman, G., van Achterberg, T., Grol, R., Schoonhoven, L., & Hulscher, M. (2013). Explaining the effects of two different strategies for promoting hand hygiene in hospital nurses: a process evaluation alongside a cluster randomised controlled trial. Implementation Science, 8(1), 41.

Huis, A., Schoonhoven, L., Grol, R., Borm, G., Adang, E., Hulscher, M., & van Achterberg, T. (2011). Helping hands: A cluster randomised trial to evaluate the effectiveness of two different strategies for promoting hand hygiene in hospital nurses. Implement Sci, 6(101), 1-9.