PICOT Research Report: Nurses, Handwashing, and Infection Rates

This report presents a PICOT research analysis focused on the critical role of handwashing in healthcare settings, specifically among nurses and medical personnel, to reduce hospital-acquired infections. The research explores the significance of hand hygiene as a primary intervention to prevent the transmission of pathogens from patients to healthcare providers and vice versa. The report includes an introduction to the problem, a discussion of the significance to nursing, the purpose and objectives of the research, and the research question. It examines two articles supporting the issue, focusing on the methodologies used, including descriptive cross-sectional studies and structured questionnaires. The report highlights the results of the studies, ethical considerations, and the impact on nursing practices. The findings emphasize the high awareness of handwashing benefits among healthcare workers and the ongoing challenges related to hand hygiene practices. The report concludes by underscoring the importance of handwashing in preventing hospital-based infections and improving patient safety.

Running Head: PICOT RESEARCH 1
Topic: PICOT Research
Name:
Instructor’s Name:
Course Name: Qualitative Studies
Date:

PICOT RESEARCH 2
Background of Study
Introduction/problem
Cleanliness of hands is very vital for medical practitioners and, specifically, the nurses
who, in most cases, are in direct contact with the patients. Thus to prevent the transfer of
hospital-acquired infections, the nurse and medical personnel are advised that they should wash
their hands before and after having contact with the patient. The picot question thus was: Does
washing hands among medical personnel reduce hospital transmitted infections? The question
seeks to establish whether the nurse is aware of the dangers of not washing their hands on or
before handling a patient. Also, they were trying to quantitively establish whether the nurses
really wash their hands when treating patients, and if they do, is it before or after.
Significance to nursing
The question is very significant to nursing by considering that nurses are the primary
caregivers to patients in a hospital set up. There is a high chance of cross-infection taking place
in the hospital if the nurses are not hygienic enough to guarantee that there is no transfer of
pathogens from the patient to the nurse and vice versa.
Purpose
The purpose of the patient being in a hospital is to be treated and not get other infections
while in the hospital.There have been cases of transmission of diseases from nurses to patients
due to the dirty hands of the nurse when handling the patient.
Objective

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The objective is to know the level of awareness of nurses and in general, the care on the
importance of washing hands before and after washing their handling patients.The other
objective is to establish the regularity or the frequency in the washing of hands by the nurse, to
know whether they wash their hands before or after or both.
Research question
The research question was: Does washing hands among medical personnel reduce
hospital transmitted infections?
How do these two articles support the nurse practice issue you chose?
Both the articles support and agree that washing of hands is crucial for the nurses in the
reduction of hospital-acquired inspection. Hospital-acquired infections have been a matter of
discussion in the past with transfer from nurses to patients. In answering to the two questions, it
will involve going through the abstract to see the relevance to the top and then looking at the
methodology to see whether the articles are quantities: the presence of data collected in the field
— the analysis of the data, discussion and the conclusion derived from the data.

PICOT RESEARCH 4
The intervention is the washing of hands by the nurses before and after handling a patient
to prevent hospital-based infections. According to Joshi, Kumar, Joshi, Park, Umesh & Raj,
2013), which considered health care working in a teaching hospital, there were more than 90% of
all the medical personnel washing hands before and after handling a patient. At the same time,
99% of the participant agreed that washing hands was essential in preventing medical care-
related infections. On the other hand, the report by Bello, Effa, Okokon, & Oduwole, 2013),
78.5% of the total participants had informationthat hands should be washed before and after
coming into contact with a patient. 96.3%of all the participants believe that hand washing by the
medical team reduces the chance of hospital-based infections. However, this seems not to be
followed as the participants cite inadequate water.
The interventions and the comparisons are in agreement with those identified in the
PICOT question that hand washing is vital in the prevention of hospital-based infections. In
comparison, the alternative is not washing hands or putting on gloves or masks. They agree that
the intervention is the best measure for infection prevention.
Method of Study:
The technique applied by Joshi, Kumar, Joshi, Park, Umesh & Raj, 2013) is a descriptive
cross-sectional study where 336 medical personnel participated in the study. The participants
included all the diverse members in the medical profession. On the other hand, Bello, Effa,
Okokon, & Oduwole, 2013) apply a structured, self-administered questionnaires with both open-
ended and close-ended questions. The departments and individuals were sampled at random.

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The two methods are different in that for the first one, you face the participant directly,
and thus you can gauge the authenticity of the information by their facial expression. For the
question are, usually preferred by antisocial people, there may be insincere answers to the posed
question which you may not detect. Nevertheless, the data collected seem total, considering that
it is a coincidence that the two reports were done in the same year, 2013!
Descriptive cross-sectional study: the benefit is that you have can gauge the sincerity of
the respondent and thus know if they are lying or not. The limitation is on time and costs, as it is
tedious and time-consuming.
For the administration of the questionnaire: you cannot gauge the sincerity of the
respondent, as you do not come face-to-face with them. The benefit is that it is cheap and very
convenient and thus can allow one to collect more data within a short period.
Results of Study
Bello, S., Effa, E. E., Okokon, E. E., & Oduwole, O. A. (2013), found that washing hands
before and after patient contact to be high as about 70% of the participants were already doing it
immediately after contact with a patient. The handwashing prevalence was higher than the
previously documented figures of less than 60% despite the water shortage. There was also 50%
who, after washing their hands, they have to use antiseptics to have more protection. As for the
report by Joshi, Kumar, Joshi, Park, Umesh & Raj, 2013), a higher number of participants are
aware of the benefits of washing thir hands before coming into contact with a patient. However,
the report found out that they differ on the belief of effectiveness of the detergents with some
preferring medicated soaps while others prefer bar soaps.

PICOT RESEARCH 6
The two reports are an insight into the changes that have been having in the nursing
practice. The nurses have become aware of the danger factor and are more informed on how to
prevent hospital-based infections.
Ethical Considerations
The two ethical considerations in the research are:
 Informed consent: in this one, the person participating in a study should
voluntarily, knowingly and in an informed perspective, give their consent. It
allows withholding of the information that you are not comfortable dispensing.
This is one way of protecting the autonomy of the respondent.
 Beneficence: In this, the research is supposed to be of benefit to the constituents
and not meant to harm them. The study should aim to improve the situation or a
condition and not to make it worse. For example, for research who learn intimate
details of patients' lives, he should deal with opening new wounds.
The two researchers tool ethical matters professionally as they did not coarse any
participants to divulge any information or even mention any participant name in the tabulation,
analysis, or the discussion of the results. All the participants were willing and of sound mind, and
the results were published for the public good.

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References
Bello, S., Effa, E. E., Okokon, E. E., & Oduwole, O. A. (2013). Handwashing practice among
healthcare providers in a teaching hospital in Southern Nigeria. International Journal of
Infection Control, 9(4). doi: 10.3396/ijic.v9i4.031.13
Ethical Issues in Conducting Research. (n.d.). Designing and Conducting Research in Education,
55–80. doi: 10.4135/9781483385648.n3
Joshi, Kumar, S., Joshi, A, Park, B, Umesh & Raj. (2013). Hand Washing Practice among
Health Care Workers in a Teaching Hospital. Journal of Nepal Health Research
Council., 11., 1–5.