Abstract 3
Introduction 4
Statement of the problem 4
Literature Review 4
Research Question 6
Research Design 6
Study Instruments 7
References 8
Abstract
Visitation in the Intensive Care Unit in health facilities has been a controversial issue for a long time. There has been continuous wrangles between the health practitioners and the patient’s family and friends over the issue of visitation, which means that a solution has to be sought. The proposal is to seek an intervention method and policy that will ensure visitation is allowed and that it is carried out with necessary regulations. The proposal paper, therefore, seeks to undertake a research that will evaluate the logistics in open ICU visitation. It seeks to find out the benefits and disadvantages of open ICU visitation. The responses of the nurses, the patient’s, the family members and other stakeholders matter in this research and, therefore, it is imperative to highlight the need.
Open Visitation Policies in Intensive Care Units in the United States
Introduction
Visitation in the hospitals is a matter that is important to both the patients and their families. The idea of ICU admission is stressful as it brings about anxiety, posttraumatic stress and depression to the patients and even the family members (Ramos et al, 2013). This is a reason that the family has to be kept close in order to ensure that they monitor the situation and be constantly updated.
Statement of the problem
There are a number of complaints about lessening the rules that govern visitation in any hospital. The patients and the physicians are at a cross road about hospital visitation. The doctors insist that regulation on visitation has to be maintained while the patients and the family members want unlimited time for visitation. This is the reason that research is done in order to find out the various ways in which Intensive Care visitation can be made possible and its importance in doing so.
Visiting of patients is an important activity to the healing process, but patients need to rest and be protected from external interference. There are moments when the patient’s situation is very bad and these are the times that rest is recommended. Distractions are not recommended at this time because they cause more strain on the patient’s condition. There are instances when visitors come in the hospital and can spread a contagious condition to the patients.
Literature Review
According to an experimental visitation at Geisinger, Donald Berwick, former president and CEO of IHI’s, suggested that it was a sensible, humane, and responsible idea to allow open visitation to Intensive Care Unit. Institute for Healthcare Improvement carried out the experimentation so as to find out the benefits of having patients visited by family and friends. The cause was also to determine the method to handle visitation and other logistics of having the visitors in the patient’s room.
The involvement of visitors to the Intensive Care Unit was greatly regulated and sometimes abolished. This is because it was believed to cause distractions and stress to both the patient and the hospital staff. The behavior that the visitors elicited in the hospital and the care unit premises was known to cause distraction and sometimes block the physicians from performing their duties. The visitor’s behavior therefore led to burdens for the staff in administering their duties.
As time and research are invested in the metrics of patient visitation, more tactics are involved in the practice in order to find out the benefits and the associated demerits of the visitation. This is where you find that the hospital has to enhance the practice so as to ensure customer satisfaction. It seems that hospitals that are not willing to bring the practice on board will lose out on customers. This notion has also pushed for health facilities involvement in the practice.
Nurses should be the primary subjects for study as they undergo various norms and interactions with both the patients and the visiting families. Nurses can help with the necessary data to enable the research especially on the methods to carry out intensive care visitation and the hours of visitation. The ability to control traffic lies with them as they understand the conditions of the patient due to their closeness to the patient. They can understand the response of the patients and give direct insights on what the patient responds to in a positive way and those that are responded to in a negative way.
Evidence highlights that there are a number of advantages that come with family and friends participation in the life and healing process of a patient. The presence of a relative, friend or a close acquaintance that the patient identifies is very vital to ensure that the healing process and the patient’s condition is catered for. This is an important state since it encourages the physicians to pay more attention to the patient’s improving condition.
Research Question
The research questions for this research are: what are the benefits for having intensive care unit patient visitation? What are the disadvantages for intensive care unit patient visitation? Are there methods that can be used to effect visitation so that it can be beneficial to the patient, the family and the physicians? To identify the various reasons as to why visitation is important to the patient and the family and generally to the health facility, research has to be undertaken.
Research Design
The research has to take place by use of both primary and secondary methods of data collection. Analysis of existing literature on the same has to be done to determine the scope of other researches on the same topic. This is in order to find out the scope of the previous research and the results found. This will help to identify a starting ground on the formulations to policies and even the strategies or important fields to carry out the study.
The research will exploit the primary methods of data collection. This is to mean that the researcher has to go to the field which is a health facility of current placement or of choice. The methods to collect data in this facility will include interviews and observation. The research to be carried out will involve the nurses, the doctors, the patients and the families of the patients in ICU. This way opinions have to be collected to represent the needs of the various stakeholders. Interviews will be carried out for the opinions of the people.
Observation is important in understanding the various reactions that patients, nurses and family members have on open ICU visitation. The various reactions of the study subjects has to be collected so that it can be understood. It means that the use of observation schedules will be initiated in order to observe specific characteristics and be within a given time. Questionnaires will be used during interviews as they are important in silently getting the opinions of the research volunteers on open ICU visitation.
Study Instruments
The study instruments for the research include the use of literature material on the subject. The materials include journals and websites that have relevant information. Questionnaires will also be used to get the opinions of the study subjects and maintain confidentiality of the research population. The use of observation schedules is also encouraged to record the optimum time and distinctive behavior of the patients, nurses and the family to the patient.
References
Bahn, M. A. (2013). A Closer Look at Visitation Hour Policies in Intensive Care Units. The Journal of Undergraduate Nursing Writing, 4-9.
IHI. (2016). A Challenge Accepted: Open Visiting in the ICU at Geisinger. Retrieved from Institute for Healthcare Improvement: http://www.ihi.org/resources/Pages/ImprovementStories/AChallengeAcceptedOpenVisitingintheICUatGeisinger.aspx
Ramos, S. F., Fumis, L. R., Azevedo, P. L., & Schettino, G. (2013). Perceptions of an Open Visitation Policy by Intensive Care Unit Workers. Ann Intensive Care.
