Patient safety is a critical element in the health care since it guarantees the wellbeing of a patient while receiving treatment and ensures their hospitalization period is short and free from any harm. Thus, it is the responsibility of nurses and other health practitioners to carry out frequent assessments of health facility status to assess the safety and quality of clinical practices. As such, research in a clinical setting is essential in identify problems which have the potential of diminishing wellness of the patients and provide solutions to address the identified clinical problem. Therefore, nurses have to advance their skills in carrying comprehensive research to determine solutions to problems they encounter in their practice.
One of the clinical problems that have the potential compromising patient’s wellbeing and give rise to adverse health outcomes is ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). This is a common hospital-acquired infection which mostly affects patients who are in the critical care unit and use ventilation machine to breathe (Munro, N., & Ruggiero, 2014). This health problem apart from increasing hospitalization period and care cost has the potential of increasing the mortality rate. This health issue is caused by microorganisms interring the respiration system and causing lungs infection. There are various methods which can be used to prevent this condition from occurring such as use of antibiotics, proper feeding techniques, prophylaxis for peptic ulcer disease, proper placement of tubes, alleviation of head of hospital bed at an angle of 30° to 45°, improvement of oral and hand hygiene (Munro, N., & Ruggiero, 2014) .
In addressing this problem, it is advisable to combine these interventions to have the optimum outcome (VAP bundle). In this regard, head elevation, prophylaxis for deep vein thrombosis, improvement of hygiene, prevention of peptic ulcer disease, daily sedation, and daily assessment of readiness to extubate will be instrumental in addressing this problem (Sedwick et al., 2012). Thus, it is essential to incorporate this measure into the daily routine of nurses to prevent the occurrence of VAP.
Is the use of VAP bundles effective than antibiotics in preventing the occurrence of Ventilator-associated pneumonia a hospital? This is the research question which will be used to guide this study. The type of the investigation which will be utilized in finding concrete results for this problem is quantitative research.
Quantitative research is vital in solving this issue since it provides primary numerical data. As such, this method provides, for instance, a particular number of patients who were involved in the research for a given period. Thus, it is easy to quantify the results or the opinion of the researcher and show the audience the magnitude the problem numerically (Bryman, 2015). Additionally, numerical computation, graphs, and charts help in presentation and explaining the findings of the research to the audience (Bryman, 2015). It also gives an avenue to compare the effectiveness of VAP bundles to antibiotics in curbing Ventilator-associated pneumonia by grouping patients in different groups and give a specific number of patients benefited from the two practices. .
Reference
Bryman, A. (2015). Social research methods. Oxford university press.
Munro, N., & Ruggiero, M. (2014). Ventilator-associated pneumonia bundle: reconstruction for best care. AACN advanced critical care, 25(2), 163-175.
Sedwick, M. B., Lance-Smith, M., Reeder, S. J., & Nardi, J. (2012). Using evidence-based practice to prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia. Critical Care Nurse, 32(4), 41-51.
