Integrating of Evidence-Based Practice into Professional Nursing Practice
The nursing care field and professionals face a series of problems that need to be addressed. The evidence-based model used to investigate the issues facing nursing care involves identifying questions, location, assessment, and evaluation (Richter & Austin, 2012). It is based on the PICO elements that include the problem, intervention, comparison, and outcome. Additionally, search methods and studies are used to obtain data.
Does the use of masks reduce acquired infections or hazards during the nursing care?
P- The problem at hand is the risks that nurses experience when performing their duties. The hazards include the exposure to pathogens, germs, and hand washing related skin infections (Eeckelaert et al., 2012). According to OSHA reports, around 5.6 million nurses are at a risk of contracting infections during the delivery of care services (Eeckelaert et al., 2012). Therefore, there is a need to implement intervention strategies based on the evidence for practice.
I- The intervention strategy that can be used is the introduction of antiviral skin masks for nurses to put on during the delivery of care services.
C- In the absence of the masks, the other alternative is to practice antibacterial hand washing (Gooch, 2015).
O- The expected outcome of the intervention is the reduction of the infections and creation of a safe nursing care environment.
Search strategy
The knowledge used for the research will be obtained from the medical care databases. Such article databases include CINAHL, Medline, MeSH among others (Richter & Austin, 2012). From the MeSH, I will search ‘cross infection.’ In Medline, the search term will be ‘antiviral masks application’ whereas ‘hand and skin disinfection’ will be searched from the CINAHL database.
Critical appraisal
After using the qualitative and quantitative search methods, there is the need to analyze the results obtained. It will help in identifying whether the question was discussed fully or not. It will also help in identifying the implications. The search critique will be carried out through cohort studies, systematic reviews, diagnostic test studies as well as randomized controlled trials.
References
Richter, R. R., & Austin, T. M. (2012). Using MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) to enhance PubMed search strategies for evidence-based practice in physical therapy. Physical Therapy, 92(1), 124-132.
Eeckelaert, L., Dhondt, S., Oeij, P., Pot, F. D., Nicolescu, G. I., Webster, J., & Elsler, D. (2012). Review of workplace innovation and its relation to occupational safety and health. Bilbao: European Agency for Safety and Health at Work.
Gooch, K. (2015). 5 of the biggest issues nurses face today. http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/human-capital-and-risk/5-of-the-biggest-issues-nurses-face-today.html
