Hand washing is an important consideration for guests of patients who have had surgery. There should be clear communications for medical workers about the need to ensure cleanliness and high sanitation standards in health care settings. This four page paper includes a sample message that can be shared with hospital visitors. The proper technique for cleaning hands is outlined. The paper also includes notes about the role nurses play.
¶ … Hygiene in Medical Settings
My message will be on hand hygiene for everyone that comes to the hospital.
Hand hygiene for hospital guests is just as important as it is for hospital personnel. Everyday interactions and activities can lead to exposure to a variety of bacteria that can create illness. In a hospital setting, this means that guests with good intentions towards loved ones can inadvertently make an illness worse or introduce new germs into clinically sanitized environments. Bacteria and other illness causing agents are often picked up from external environments and surfaces and then transported through body parts such as the nose, throat, skin, and hair. Because the hands are one of the most active parts of the body, we also carry germs between our fingers and underneath fingernails. Therefore, it becomes important that everyone wash their hands properly and frequently to decrease the transmission of bacteria and other harmful agents.
How did you select the issue, quality, concern or characteristic about the profession of nursing that you wanted the public to know more about?
My selection of this issue is based on statistical information. Two million people each year become ill as a result of a hospital-acquired, nosocomial infection resulting in more than 90,000 patient deaths and $4.5 billion in additional medical expenses each year (Smith, 2009). Proper hand hygiene is critical to the prevention of these infections. The Center for Disease Control indicates that hand-washing can eliminate more than 50% of illness cases. Yet, only average hand-washing rates are only at about 40% (Kuo, 2001). Thus, it is the mission of every mission and care facility to advance the quality of patient care and reduce infection by improving hand hygiene practices in healthcare settings.
Who is the most appropriate target for your message? What is the theme of your message? Why do you think this message is important? What do you hope to accomplish by sharing your message?
Crafting the proper message for guests and families of surgery patients can go a long way to stress the importance of hand hygiene that helps prevent infection spread in hospital settings. This can be an emotional appeal to help encourage compliance. Most are there to support their loved ones in their surgery procedures and recovery. Perhaps they do not understand the role that hand washing can play in ensuring a speedy, uncomplicated recovery for the patient. They should be armed with the correct information.
Simplistic, accurate information can help emphasize the risks and poor patients outcomes associated with visitor introduced bacteria. Some people may be deterred from washing their hands because of distractions due to grief or sadness associated with a patient's issues, time constraints, lack of knowledge, unfamiliarity with hospital guidelines, or mere forgetfulness (Smith, 2009). The overall goal of my selected message would be to decrease perceived barriers to hand hygiene. This include adequate information about proper hand washing technique and also available alternatives when soap and water hand washing is not an option such as the use of alcohol-based hand rubs, although this should never substitute for hand washing when hands are visibly soiled (Kuo, 2011).
Sample Messaging
Did You Know Clean Hands Save Lives?
Human hands can carry millions of germs at any given time, including bacteria and flu viruses. This is true for both adults and children. Many patients become ill from exposure to outside germs from well-meaning visitors. Surgery, in particular, means patients can be at greater risk for contracting an outside illness.
By washing your hands with soap and water during your time here in the facility and before going in to see the patient, you can help stop the spread of germs. Your attention to this helps to keep everyone healthy and safe.
Proper technique:
Although washing ones' hands seems easy, there is a proper way to ensure best results.
1. Wet hands first with warm (not hot) water.
2. Using soap, lather hands and forearms.
3. Wash hands and arms thoroughly for 20 seconds. Give extra attention to fingernails and spaces between fingers.
4. Rinse thoroughly under running water.
5. Dry thoroughly using a clean paper towel or hand dryer. Turn off water faucet.
6. Repeat process as needed, particularly after restroom breaks. Help children wash their hands also.
Remember:
The 20 second rule is important! It is the recommended minimum amount of time needed to loosen germs. An easy way to remember is to sing the ABC song or Happy Birthday. This will help you measure the correct length of time.
If soap and water is not an option, use an alcohol-based sanitizer or disposable hand wipe. The alcohol in these products helps kill germs, although this is not recommended if hands are visibly soiled.
If in doubt, ask a nurse or staff member where you can wash your hands or if there is hand sanitizer available. These simple steps and precautions can make a difference in the recovery of your loved one.
How would you share your message to have the most influence? What person, agency, or institution would you select and why? What considerations would influence the format, timing, and follow-up of your submission? What obstacles might you face and how would you overcome these? What negation and advocacy skills would you need to get your message out?
This message would be best shared through informational pamphlets and brochures available at visitor sign-in or left in waiting room areas of major hospitals, surgery centers or other in-patient settings. As guests wait for updates on their loved ones or to go in to visit with a patient, they would be exposed to the information along with other reading material. Brochure displays should be eye-catching and prominent. Another approach is to have each guest handed a pamphlet along with their guest pass. This is a more direct strategy that puts the message in the hands of each guest.
To implement a process for promoting the literature and information, conversations with administration and staff would be necessary. They would play a critical role in ensuring that the information is made available on a consistent basis and that nurses also reinforce the message as they work with guests or direct/escort them into patient rooms. Obstacles to compliance might include general lack of regard from healthcare staff, visitors and other guests. In addition, limited literacy could prevent the message from being fully understood. Because of these factors, there should also be clearly marked signs near sinks and in restrooms that encourage hand washing among guests and that are simple to understand. Language should include short sentences and numbered steps for proper hand washing technique. Images should harmonize with the message and be relatable -- close-ups of hands being washed, illustrations of families gathered together in healthcare settings or of guests at the bedside of a patient.
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