Evidence-Based Practice: Infection Control in Geriatric Care Unit

This assignment focuses on evidence-based practice in the context of infection control within geriatric care units. The student identifies the clinical area of interest, highlighting the vulnerability of elderly patients to infections due to factors such as reduced immunity and polypharmacy. A detailed search strategy is described, utilizing electronic databases and specific key terms, Boolean operators, and inclusion/exclusion criteria. Several research papers are selected and reviewed, including studies on infection prevention in nursing homes, outbreak control, and cost-effectiveness analyses. The assignment provides a comprehensive overview of the chosen topic, the research methodologies used, and the implications of the findings for improving patient care in geriatric settings.

EVIDENCE BASED
PRACTICE :SUBMITTED BY:

Identification and description of
the chosen clinical area of
interest:
 The clinical area of interest chosen for the
evaluation of evidence based practice is
Infection Control in Geriatric Care Unit.
 As stated by Magill et al.(2018), the old age
patients within the geriatric care unit are
susceptible to infections due to reduced
immunity, effect of poly pharmacy,
malnutrition and impaired cognitive functions
that leads to poor health and hygiene
 Research studies suggest that one out of
every 17 elderly patients die due to
healthcare associated infections (Cohen et al.
2016).

Description of chosen search
strategy:
The search strategy comprised of browsing through
electronic databases. The search was guided by the use of
relevant key terms that comprised of the following:
Infection control, HAI prevalence, Geriatric setting,
Old age patients, morbidity, mortality, nosocomial
infection, prevention strategies, United States.
The search was refined with the use of Boolean Operators
(OR/AND) and relevant exclusion and inclusion criteria was
used.

Selection of databases to
conduct search-strategy:
 The electronic databases that were used for conducting the search
comprised of the following:
 Google Scholar
 PubMed
 Medline
 Cochrane Library

Papers selected for review:
 Clifton, M., Kralovic, S. M., Simbartl, L. A., Minor, L., Hasselbeck, R., Martin, T., & Roselle, G. A.
(2018). Achieving balance between implementing effective infection prevention and control
practices and maintaining a home-like setting in US Department of Veterans Affairs nursing
homes. American journal of infection control, 46(11), 1307-1310.
 Wong, H., Eso, K., Ip, A., Jones, J., Kwon, Y., Powelson, S., ... & Taylor, G. (2015). Use of ward
closure to control outbreaks among hospitalized patients in acute care settings: a systematic
review. Systematic reviews, 4(1), 152.
 Karlsen, V. E. (2015). Surgical site infection prevention in a local hospital setting-A cost-
effectiveness analysis of a multi-modal intervention to prevent surgical site infection after
hemi arthroplasty in hip fracture patients (Master's thesis).
 Mody, L., Meddings, J., Edson, B. S., McNamara, S. E., Trautner, B. W., Stone, N. D., ... & Saint,
S. (2015). Enhancing resident safety by preventing healthcare-associated infection: a national
initiative to reduce catheter-associated urinary tract infections in nursing homes. Clinical
Infectious Diseases, 61(1), 86-94.

References:
Cohen, C. C., Choi, Y. J., & Stone, P. W. (2016). Costs of infection prevention
practices in long-term care settings: A systematic review. Nursing
economic$, 34(1), 16.
Magill, S. S., O’Leary, E., Janelle, S. J., Thompson, D. L., Dumyati, G., Nadle,
J., ... & Ray, S. M. (2018). Changes in Prevalence of Health Care–
Associated Infections in US Hospitals. New England Journal of
Medicine, 379(18), 1732-1744.

THANK YOU!!