CHCPOL003 Research and Apply Evidence to Practice - Written Report

This document presents a student's written report for the CHCPOL003 unit, focusing on researching and applying evidence to practice in healthcare. The assignment involves researching infection control, identifying areas for improvement in nursing practice, and formulating a research question related to hand hygiene effectiveness in hospitals. The research objective aims to evaluate the impact of hand hygiene practices on preventing hospital-acquired infections, drawing comparisons with practices where hand hygiene is not followed. The report also connects the research to patient safety, emphasizing the prevention of avoidable harm and the importance of a safety culture. Desklib provides a platform for students to access this and similar solved assignments, aiding in their studies and academic endeavors.

STUDENT
Assessment – Written report
CHCPOL003 Research and apply evidence to practice
Student Name: Student ID:
Group: Date:
Type of Assessment
This summative assessment will enable your Assessor to make a judgement of competency based on the
submission of your completed assignments against the requirements of this unit of competency.
Assessor Instructions
The Assessment Benchmark developed for each unit of competency is the evidence criteria used to
judge the quality of performance (i.e. the assessment decision-making rules). Assessors must use these
benchmarks to make a judgement on whether competency has been achieved and to determine if the
participant has performed to the standard expected to meet the unit requirement and learning outcomes.
Competency results for each unit are recorded in the Record of Assessment Form.
Reasonable Adjustment
Careers Australia will allow flexibility in relation to the way in which each unit is delivered and
assessed based on the student’s requirement. The following are the reasonable adjustments for this unit:
Trainer/Assessor must select which of the following is suitable for this unit and DELETE rows that are not
applicable
Reasonable Adjustment for this unit College
Based
On-Line
Delivery
The assistance of a Learning Support Teacher for LLN issues
Modifications to physical environment, e.g. Wheelchair access
Changes to course design, e.g. Instead of written assessment task –
change to verbal questioning & assessor to write the answers
Changes in lecture schedules and arrangements, e.g. Relocating classes
to an accessible venue
Modifications to computer equipment in the computer lab
Provision of information or course materials in accessible format, e.g.
A textbook in braille
Supply of specialised equipment or services, e.g. A note taker for a
student who cannot write
Assessment Coding
Assessment of this program of study is based on competency-based principles.
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STUDENT
Assessment – Written report
CHCPOL003 Research and apply evidence to practice
S = Satisfactory
NS = Not Satisfactory
Students who fail to perform satisfactorily for the assessment in the prescribed date may be assessed as
‘not satisfactory’. You are required to be assessed as ‘Satisfactory’ on completion of Assessments
assigned by your assessor for this unit of competency.
Re-assessment
Any re-assessment is conducted as soon as practicable after you have been informed of the requirement
to be re-assessed and have been given the opportunity to be re-trained and assimilate the training. You
are re-assessed in only the areas assessed NS. It is at the assessor/s discretion to re-assess the entire
assessment should it be demonstrated an overall understanding of this unit has not been achieved.
Students that are assessed ‘satisfactory’ after re-assessment of areas deemed NS will achieve
competency for this assignment.
I acknowledge the assessment process has been explained and agree to undertake the assessment. I am
aware of Careers Australia’s appeals process, should the need arise. I also understand that I must be
assessed as ‘satisfactory’ in all parts of the assessment to gain a competent result for this unit of
competency. I declare that the work contained in this assessment is my own, except where
acknowledgment of sources is made. I understand that a person found responsible for academic
misconduct will be subject to disciplinary action (refer to student handbook).
Student Signature:
__________________________
Date: ______
Assessor use only
Assessor Comment/Feedback:
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Assessor Name: ____________________________ Assessor Signature:
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Date: _________________ Result: Satisfactory/Not Satisfactory
Office use only:
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STUDENT
Assessment – Written report
CHCPOL003 Research and apply evidence to practice
Results
entered by:
Date: Skills
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ASSESSMENT: Written report - Research assignment – 2 topics
S/NS result given. Must attain a satisfactory result.
Assignment INSTRUCTIONS - Topics 1 & 2
 This assessment consists of two (2) research topics
o You must complete both topics – if you submit only one topic your assessment will be
deemed not satisfactory.
o Each topic asks the same questions.
o You may choose a different topic for assignment 1, but your educator must agree with
the topic you have chosen prior to completing the assignment.
 Use the template provided.
 You must submit your posters/flyers at the same time you submit the two research topics on
Blackboard. Label each poster/flyer clearly so your name can be identified by the educator.
o E.g. CHCPOL003 Surname_Poster1
 Word count: no more than 2,000 words per assignment (no more than 4,000 words for the
whole assessment).
 Read topic 1 and topic 2 at the end of the first class.
 This assessment is to be done IN PAIRS. Educators will allocate the pairs.
 You will be assessed individually, for your submission of BOTH topics. Each student to
submit their assessment via Blackboard.
 Do not wait until the last minute to complete the assessment as this is a time-consuming
assessment – you should start as early as possible.
 You may use the PowerPoints for this unit and the learning activities to help you complete the
assessment.
 You are required to communicate verbally and/or in writing with your educator throughout the
assessment to ensure you understand the process and to clarify any areas of uncertainty.
 You are required to apply your Professional Standards of Practice throughout the assessment,
the framework for which included:
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STUDENT
Assessment – Written report
CHCPOL003 Research and apply evidence to practice
o NMBA Enrolled Nurse Standards for Practice
o NMBA Code of Ethics for Nurses
o NMBA Code of Professional Conduct for nurses
o Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act (National Law)
o Scope of Nursing Practice Decision Making Framework
 You are also required to apply an appropriate research approach to nursing practice within the
scope of the Enrolled Nurse and use nursing research methodologies and resources
appropriately.
 You will need to provide the exact number of words used at the end of the proposal.
o Word count does NOT include: The pre-existing templates, instructions and questions.
 You must use analytical processes throughout the assessment including: comparing, contrasting,
challenging and reflecting.
Research Topic 1
Infection control and prevention
(You may choose a different topic, but your educator must agree with the topic you have chosen.)
Topic 1 – Background
Read before starting your assignment
You are a new enrolled nurse working in a clinic located in a remote area. The clinic building is an
older structure and lacks the use of clinical and client information, such as posters. It has been
identified that many of the staff are efficient in their roles but have some out-of-date ideas in their
nursing practice.
The clinic manager has asked you to research the most current information about a specific topic,
such as:
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STUDENT
Assessment – Written report
CHCPOL003 Research and apply evidence to practice
Infection control
Plan the research activity
1. In order to complete this assessment, you need to identify TWO (2) areas related to the
topic, where research can help support and improve your own practice as an EN.
Infection control encompasses the discipline that places an emphasis on the prevention and
management of nosocomial and healthcare associated infection in healthcare settings. The
implications of this topic in healthcare is associated with the fact that it forms the foundation of
medical practice and works with the aim of enhancing the wellbeing and health of the patients
(Tacconelli et al. 2014). The research topic focuses on infection control owing to the fact that it is an
essential component of public health practice. Research on infection control is imperative because
these practices play an important role in the maintenance of a safe environment, by lowering risks of
probable spread of infection and other diseases. Two domains related to the topic are hand hygiene,
and disinfection and sterilisation. According to Berríos-Torres et al. (2017) while disinfection of the
hospital environment will prove beneficial in averting the outbreak of an epidemic, hand hygiene
practices are the primary step that should be adopted to prevent spread of infection. Aseptic infection
control techniques are an important component of invasive clinical procedures and should take into
account all infection control measures, owing to the prevalence of undiagnosed infection.
2. Identify the reason(s) for undertaking your research from the list below.
 You may select several reasons.
 Provide a brief rationale for each.
The basic reason for undertaking this research can be accredited to the fact that all nursing
professionals have the primary duty of controlling the spread of potential pathogen from patients to
patients, visitors, staff, and vice versa. It is imperative for maintaining a safe environment at the
hospitals in order to lower risks of morbidity and mortality (in severe cases) (Tängdén and Giske
2015). Showing adherence to appropriate infection control practices in hospital environment will
substantially reduce the rates of HAIs and will also ensure that the nursing staff are able to deliver
quality nursing practices. Under most circumstances, the disabled and sick people admitted to
hospitals are provided care in curbed spaces (Miller and Palenik 2014). This calls for the need of
implementing infection control measures, as such patients have an increased susceptibility of
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STUDENT
Assessment – Written report
CHCPOL003 Research and apply evidence to practice
acquiring pathogen borne infections. Conduction of this research will also play an important role
in snowballing the perception and awareness on the nursing techniques that need to be adopted in
hospital settings, thereby augmenting the clinical skills and expertise and encouraging continued
professional development. It is a well-documented fact that creating provisions for hand washing
facilities that are readily accessible and ensuring regular washing of hands by the healthcare staff
with soap and water, following contact with infectious material, blood or body fluids, is imperative
for control of infection. Hence, the research will focus on hand hygiene practices and their role in
infection control.
3. Write a clear statement highlighting your research question or hypothesis, e.g. “Is there
a difference between hand washing protocols and actual practice”.
It may include:
 Nursing interventions applicable to the topic
 Client perceptions of the provision of this topic
 Models of nursing care that utilise the topic
 Political issues confronting nursing practice and health care provision in relation to
the topic
The research question for this part of the research activity is given below:
How effective are hand hygiene practices in controlling infection in hospital settings?
This research question will act in the form of an accountable review that will ease addressing
precise question related to control of infection amid patients admitted to hospitals.
4. Establish and define the general research objective.
Tips:
 A research objective summarises what is to be achieved by the study.
 Ensure your objective is S.M.A.R.T and relevant, logical, feasible, observable and
measurable.
 The objective should be clearly phrased – use verbs, e.g. to assess, to establish, to
determine, to compare, etc.
The research objective has the aim of evaluating the effectiveness of hand hygiene practices in
preventing the incidence of hospital acquired and/or nosocomial infections. The research will
also draw a comparison of the impacts of the aforementioned intervention with practices where
hand hygiene is not followed. This will enable implementation of the collected findings in
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STUDENT
Assessment – Written report
CHCPOL003 Research and apply evidence to practice
future nursing practice, and will subsequently reduce the rates of infection among patients, thus
safeguarding their health.
5. Identify ONE (1) other discipline that could be connected to this research activity.
 Briefly explain your choice of discipline.
An additional discipline that can be associated with the particular research activity is safety of
patients. This particular discipline refers to the methods that are adopted by healthcare
professionals for preventing all forms of avoidable harm to patients and also places due
emphasis on prevention of errors, learning from the errors that are occurring, and is grounded
on a safety culture that comprises of the healthcare organisation and their patients (Berenholtz
et al. 2014). Hence, patient safety encompasses medical care that protects patients from
preventable and/or accidental injuries. In other words, this supplementary discipline also
comprises analysis and documentation of errors that are found to violate the rights of the service
users, thus enhancing patient health and wellbeing.
6. In order to gather information about the research topic, you will need to access credible
sources of data and evidence.
 List two (2) sources you intend to use for this assignment.
 Copy the link address of the source and paste it next to the source’s name – this will
provide the proof to your assessor that you accessed it.
o E.g. PubMed - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed
 Source 1: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/
 Source 2: http://www.cochranelibrary.com/
HINT: This is a good time to contact your educator and discuss your research topic
and verbally gain confirmation that you and your partner are still on track.
Gather information for your research
7. Evaluate and select a maximum of two (2) methods of gathering information you think
would be most appropriate to answer your research question.
 Briefly explain why you have chosen a particular method over another, e.g. more
time efficient.
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STUDENT
Assessment – Written report
CHCPOL003 Research and apply evidence to practice
Tips:
Methods of gathering include search engine using correct key words, literature reviews,
systematic reviews, interviews, surveys, seminars, and surveys.
Evidence will be collected by probing pertinent scholarly articles from the above-mentioned
sources. The research question will be kept all-inclusive and detailed. The research will place
due emphasis on the input of precise search terms and key phrases that will facilitate extraction
of scientific articles that are applicable to the phenomenon, currently under investigation. Some
of the key phrases will be such as, “infection prevention”, “infection control”, “hand washing,”
“hand hygiene,” “hospital acquired,” “compliance,” “guideline adherence,” “general
precaution,” “standard precaution,” “nosocomial infection,” and “infection control” will be used
in the electronic databases and search engines (Aveyard 2014). These key terms were combined
with three boolean operators namely, AND, NOT, and OR. These assisted in the exclusion of
articles that were unpublished or not relevant to the research question.
8. You are now to gather information for your research topic using a systematic approach.
Stages for your information gathering activity
1. Statement of objective – you should have already completed that step
2. Data collection, i.e. a literature search
3. Data evaluation – critiquing articles to include or exclude them from the
review.
 You may use the appraisal tools developed by JBI to help you
http://joannabriggs.org/research/critical-appraisal-tools.html
4. Analysis – comparing, contrasting, challenging & reflecting
5. Presentation of findings
At this stage, select four (4) sources
Please find the hierarchy of evidence, below:
1. Systematic reviews and meta-analysis
2. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs)
3. Cohort studies
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STUDENT
Assessment – Written report
CHCPOL003 Research and apply evidence to practice
4. Case-control studies
5. Cross-sectional surveys
6. Case reports
Four sources that have been selected for this assignment are:
1. Hand hygiene-related clinical trials reported since 2010: a systematic review
2. A Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trial of 6-Step vs 3-Step Hand Hygiene Technique
in Acute Hospital Care in the United Kingdom
3. Impact of the International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC)
Multidimensional Hand Hygiene Approach in five intensive care units in three cities of
China
4. Reduction of Healthcare-Associated Infections by Exceeding High Compliance with
Hand Hygiene Practices
9. Distinguish between relevant and irrelevant information.
 Briefly explain why one (1) piece of your information is particularly relevant
according to your objectives and your workplace requirements
The systematic review titled “Hand hygiene-related clinical trials reported since 2010: a
systematic review” is particularly important to the research question owing to the fact that it is
an overview or synthesis of available evidences related to the effectiveness of hand hygiene
practices in controlling infection. Based on the assortment of evidences, this scholarly article
will provide a definite answer for the particular research aim, and will also help in
establishment of whether hand hygiene based interventions are safe and fruitful in hospital
settings. It will also prove valuable in affirming the use of the findings in regular practice.
10. In order to facilitate your analysis, organise the information you have found.
Tips:
 You may summarise each source of information using key words.
 You may choose to order your articles in chronological order if your focus is to
show an evolution of practices.
 You may order your articles following the rules of evidence, i.e. RCT > case report.
The systematic review by Kingston, O'Connell and Dunne (2016) placed considerable emphasis
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STUDENT
Assessment – Written report
CHCPOL003 Research and apply evidence to practice
on the need for reducing healthcare associated infections, with showing compliance to hand
hygiene practices amid healthcare professionals. The primary aim of the review was to
document the consequences of a systematic investigation for peer reviewed articles that focused
on compliance. The authors included articles from CINAHL and PubMed that were published
on or after December 2009, following the printing of the hand hygiene guidelines in World
Health Organisation report, till 2014 February. An analysis of the collected studies suggested
that intensive care units were their principle focus, followed by elderly care. Most of the
included studies reported an improvement in the health outcomes among the participants, due to
compliance of the hand hygiene protocols and guidelines. The trials included in the review
suggested that the techniques promoted by the WHO were multifaceted and contributed
significantly in lowering the rates of nosocomial infections across healthcare wards, where they
were correctly implemented.
A comparison was drawn between the effectiveness of 3-step and 6-step hand hygiene practices
in acute healthcare unit by Reilly et al. (2016). The purpose of the trial was to evaluate the
microbiologic efficiency of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 3-step and World
Health Organization’s 6-step hand hygiene methods that focused on the usage of alcohol-based
hand rubs. Randomisation of 42 doctors and 78 nurses who were directly involved in patient
care, in the two groups (1:1) suggested that the 6-step method was better effective in lowering
the median log10 of the bacterial count. This hand hygiene technique was found to reduce the
count from 3.28 CFU/mL (95% CI, 3.11–3.38 CFU/mL) to 2.58 CFU/mL (2.08–2.93
CFU/mL), in contrast to the 3-step hand hygiene procedure that condensed the count from 3.08
CFU/mL (2.977–3.27 CFU/mL) to 2.88 CFU/mL (−2.58 to 3.15 CFU/mL) (P=.02). However,
there was a major failure in the 6-step method in increasing total area of hand coverage and
required a longer time period for implementation (42.50 seconds vs 35.0 seconds, P=.002), to
control infection.
A longitudinal study by Sickbert-Bennett et al. (2016) tried to investigate the impacts that high
and very high acquiescence to hand hygiene practices create on rate of healthcare-associated
infections. The study was conducted across a 853 bedded hospital during 2013-2015 that was
subjected to the implementation of a novel hand hygiene program called “Clean In, Clean Out”.
The primary focus of the program was on cleaning the hands while arriving and parting from
patient rooms, concomitant with the healthcare personnel taking making observations and
providing feedback. The end of the study demonstrated a momentous upsurge in general hand
hygiene adherence (p<0.001). This in turn was accompanied by a noteworthy reduction in the
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STUDENT
Assessment – Written report
CHCPOL003 Research and apply evidence to practice
overall rates of healthcare associated infection (p = 0.0066), supported by less number of
infections and reduced 22 deaths. Compliance to the guidelines also helped in US ≈$5 million
savings.
A before-and-after study was conducted by Su et al. (2015) for assessing the effects of
International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC) Multidimensional Hand
Hygiene (HH) methods, from May 2009- December 2010. Following categorisation of the
study into two periods namely, baseline period for 3 months and a follow-up period, an increase
was observed in the overall hand hygiene compliance rates (51.5-80.1%; 95% CI 73.2–87.8; P
= 0.004). Conduction of a multivariate analysis reported that females and nurses demonstrated
greater compliance to hand hygiene practices, in comparison to males and physicians,
respectively.
HINT: Contact your educator and discuss your research topic and verbally gain
confirmation that you and your partner are still on track.
Analyse the information
11. Prioritise information based on the research objectives.
 Using questions 9 and 10 to help you, select only TWO (2) articles that you will
keep for the rest of this assignment.
12. Compare and contrast your two (2) sources of information.
 Use the table provided in Appendix A.
 You must complete all the sections.
 Instructions in italics are to be removed.
13. You have now thoroughly analysed the information available to you. Now draw
conclusions based on your findings.
To conclude, the spread of viral, bacterial, fungal pathogen is responsible for the onset of
hospital acquired infections among patients. These infections can be controlled if the hand
hygiene guidelines and protocols are accurately followed by the healthcare staff. Hand hygiene
will prevent the spread of these germs, thus lowering infection rates, increasing wellbeing and
health, and lowering the length of hospitalisation.
14. As your findings may be used to establish evidence-based practice, identify one (1)
impact your conclusions may have, in terms of duty of care requirements.
 E.g. in order to do no harm to the clients and prevent disease transmission, all
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STUDENT
Assessment – Written report
CHCPOL003 Research and apply evidence to practice
nurses should wear gloves when touching the client.
Adoption of hand hygiene practices in hospitals will bring about a cultural change in the
organisation and promote patient health and safety.
HINT: Contact your educator and discuss your research topic and verbally gain
confirmation that you and your partner are still on track.
Use information in practice
15. Assess one (1) way in which different aspects of information may be used in your
workplace.
The evidences gathered will be used by monitoring whether the healthcare staff regularly wash
their hands before and after coming in contact with the patients, blood or any body fluids, along
with keeping a record of the practices.
16. Using and reflecting on what you have learnt from your research
 Identify one area for change in your workplace or current practice.
The reflection helped me understand that nosocomial infections are avoidable and spending a
minute or more in hand hygiene practices can help in safeguarding the health of patients as well
as the hospital staff.
17. Identify issues that require further research and evaluation.
The compliance of hand hygiene at assisted living facilities and residential care centres should
also be investigated.
18. Using one piece of A4 paper or PowerPoint (1 slide) (portrait format), develop a poster or
a flyer to address outcomes of research, i.e. select a method to disseminate your findings.
 You will be required to scan it and upload it on Blackboard with this assignment.
 Refer to your learning activities 11 and 12 for more ideas about how to do a poster
or a flyer using PowerPoint.
Tips:
 Consider your audience, the time and resources available.
 It is recommended you adopt a flyer or poster style with a mix of text and pictures –
do not put in too much information.
HINT: Contact your educator and discuss your actions verbally gain
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