NUR 590 Evidence-Based Practice Project Proposal Implementation Plan

Sample Answer

Developing an implementation plan for an evidence-based practice project proposal is critical to executing all the proposed aspects to improve patient care quality and safety (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2022). Hospital-acquired infections or nosocomial infections are a major patient safety issue because of the adverse effects they cause on patients and healthcare facilities like increased cost of care and lengthened stay in hospitals (Armstrong-Novak et al., 2023).

The purpose of this paper is to present an implementation plan for the proposed evidence-based practice project on hand hygiene measures to reduce and prevent hospital-acquired infections among providers who transmit them to patients in clinical settings.

The implementation plan for the proposed hand hygiene measures to reduce and prevent the occurrence of nosocomial infections will comprise different aspects, from setting to stakeholders, and highlight the possible barriers.

Setting, Access to Potential Subjects, and Consent or Approval
The setting for the proposed EBP project will be a healthcare facility or hospital, especially in inpatient areas like wards, acute and critical care areas that include medical-surgical units, and intensive care units where patients have increased susceptibility to infections because of their delicate or fragile nature.

The project focuses on improving hand hygiene measures among healthcare providers in these settings to reduce and prevent transmission to patients. The implementation in this setting will focus on having effective interventions like hand washing protocols, use of hand sanitizers, and training and education of the providers to improve acceptance (Melnyk et al., 2022).

The project will target all healthcare workers, especially nurses in the different units. However, the pilot implementation will be in the medical-surgical area before rollout in other parts of the facility. The second aspect is to get consent from participants and approval from the organizational leadership and management.

Getting consent from the staff members will entail briefing them about the project and providing all necessary information, including the benefits of the project to patients and the organization. The implementation team will seek informed consent before enlisting participants to be part of the project by requiring them to sign the necessary forms.

All participants will voluntarily be subjects based on their informed consent and willingness to participate in the project. The researcher will seek approval from the relevant Institutional Review Board (IRB) in the university and at the facility to commit to compliance with required ethical considerations and legal mandates.

Timeline

The implementation time for the proposed EBP project will be three months. Different activities happen based on the timeline, from the initial week to the last part of the evaluation. The activities in the timeline will entail having an inter-professional team within the first two weeks of the proposed project.

The timeline will entail the collection of required resources and training of nurses on the benefits of hand hygiene measures to increase awareness and acceptance of the project (Melnyk et al., 2022). Through the training, participants will gain sufficient knowledge and awareness to identify some of the best interventions on hand hygiene measures and appropriate for the facility.

The timeline will use the proposed framework or model for change, the ADKAR change model, to integrate different portions of the project, from collecting requirements to implementation and evaluation. For instance, the first month or four weeks will involve setting up all requirements, engaging stakeholders providing information, and seeking approval from relevant authorities, from organizational leadership to institutional review board (DeNisco, 2023).

The last two months will focus on executing all proposed aspects of the project and reviewing benefits before large-scale rollout and evaluation of its effectiveness to the facility. The last two weeks will analyze the outcomes of the measures by analyzing data before and after the implementation. The timeline for the project is attached in the appendix.

Resources

Successful implementation of proposed evidence-based projects depends on the availability of required resources; both human resources and material or funds to procure necessary tools and equipment. In this case, the implementation of the proposed project will require human resources comprising competent trainers to offer knowledge to nurses (DeNisco, 2023).

The human resource element will also include nurse practitioners clinical nurse leaders, nurses, and project managers. The project will require physical resources like training manuals and guidelines, tables and chairs, screens for presentations, computers, and Internet connectivity or broadband services.

The implication is that the project team will develop a budget based on the list of all items that the proposed EBP intervention will require in for effective implementation in the facility (Melnyk et al., 2022). Financial resources will also be required to cater to the initial hand hygiene measures like placing hand washing points and hand sanitization areas for both providers and patients within the facility.

The proposed budget in the appendix highlights all areas of resource requirement for the project; including cost of personnel, consumable supplies, and equipment, especially those that the facility may not provide. Changes required in the implementation of the proposed solution will entail more information and awareness among nurses before the overall rollout.

Nurse leaders will be change champions and ensure that all nurses and other providers embrace the proposed project. All required resources and the proposed budget are attached in the appendix.

Data Collection Design and Effectiveness

Data collection is a fundamental aspect of getting information on the effectiveness of a proposed project in healthcare settings. As such, the proposed EBP project will use a qualitative design, in this case, an observational approach where the project team will observe the number of times providers wash hands or use sanitizers when attending to patients (DeNisco, 2023).

Furthermore, the project team will use a pre-and-post-implementation model to analyze data on the prevalence of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) among patients. The team will collect data using semi-structured interviews and self-reporting mechanisms among nurses to determine their frequency of hand washing before and after the implementation of the project.

This will occur during the implementation from the first week of the second month to the third week of the final month. The data will assess the overall outcome and effectiveness in enhancing patient safety by reducing HAIs among patients (Wei et al., 2020).

The proposed EBP project is effective as it will ascertain that healthcare workers in the selected units comply with hand hygiene measures for better care delivery and reduction in hospital-acquired infections that have negative effects on patient outcomes and quality care provision.

Methods and Instruments for Monitoring

The implementation of the proposed EBP project will comprise various methods and instruments for monitoring the outcomes and effectiveness of the intervention. Firstly, the project team will use an audit tool and satisfaction survey.

The satisfaction survey will evaluate the effectiveness of the measures implemented to reduce the high cost of hospital-acquired infection in the identified units (Heavey, 2022). Through the tool, the project team will complete the audit process and collect data on certain hand hygiene interventions and their outcomes.

The project will deploy semi-structured questionnaires to gather data and observational checklists for self-reported compliance measures among nurses. Every nurse will fill out the self-reported compliance form and observational checklist whenever they visit patients and conduct their routine rounding processes (Armstrong-Novak et al., 2023).

Through the collected information from these tools or instruments, the project team will make necessary changes to capture all gaps and improve the overall efficacy of the proposed intervention. The method or instrument for the proposed EBP project is attached in the appendix.

Delivery of the Intervention

The process of delivering the intervention will involve the project team. The initial activity in the delivery process will entail training nurses and other healthcare workers through an inter-professional collaboration team. The training will entail providing sufficient information to attain a buy-in from internal stakeholders.

Secondly, the team will identify needs and gaps in the different units, starting with the medical-surgical unit to pilot the implementation (Melnyk et al., 2022). Thirdly, the institution will coordinate and collaborate with the implementation or project team to determine different approaches to install the suggested interventions on hand hygiene measures (Choong et al., 2022).

Fourthly, support from all stakeholders, starting with organizational leadership, will help the project team to succeed in implementing the intervention. Lastly, the delivery will also entail collecting data and analyzing it at every step of the process to determine its effectiveness and patient outcomes. The process will start at a pilot level in the medical-surgical unit before rollout in other units.

Stakeholders in Implementing the Plan

Stakeholder support is essential to attain the goals of the proposed EBP project as they offer critical resources, input, and expertise, and execute the recommended aspects of the interventions. As such, various stakeholders will be necessary for the implementation of this project.

They will include internal stakeholders led by the organizational management and leadership who will approve the project and allocate sufficient resources, nurse leaders and managers who will coordinate with the project team to implement the intervention, and the project manager (Choong et al., 2022). The project manager will oversee all components of the project and coordinate with all stakeholders to attain the deliverables within the set timelines.

Nurses and other healthcare workers will be the third component of the project and will execute the proposed interventions based on their shifts and job descriptions. External stakeholders will include expert trainers who shall prepare nurses for the intervention and patients and their families as beneficiaries of the proposed intervention.

Aspects of the Implementation Plan Barriers, Challenges and Solutions
The project’s success will depend on the project team and organizational support. The project will require facilitating aspects like sufficient resources and support from all stakeholders, effective communication, and motivation among employees to embrace changes (Kerr et al., 2022).

For instance, sufficient resources will enable the project team to implement all aspects of the proposed intervention. Conversely, barriers like time and resource limitation, inadequate support, and limited knowledge and skills in project management may hinder the attainment of set goals of the proposed project (Alatawi et al., 2020).

Negative attitudes from employees may fuel resistance to the implementation of the suggested intervention. As such, the implementation team should develop a collaborative approach to the project, engage stakeholders, and communicate effectively to reduce possible resistance and attain the necessary support to achieve the stated project goals and objectives.

Feasibility

The implementation of the project is feasible based on the cost-benefit analysis approach as the benefits from the intervention would be more than the expected expenses or costs. For instance, the project is keen on improving patient safety and quality of care. Therefore, the organization and its stakeholders will implement it to reduce costs associated with hospital-acquired infections (HAIs).

The cost of the intervention based on the budget will be a one-off investment with expected improvement based on reduced infection rates among patients and improved hand hygiene for providers (DeNisco, 2023).

Imperatively, the facility will save on such costs and attain excellence status as well as get compensated based on the value-based healthcare model as promoted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). As such, the project is viable with better feasibility status.

Conclusion

The implementation of this proposed EBP project is important as it provides practical interventions to reduce hospital-acquired infections in medical-surgical settings and other critical areas within healthcare facilities. As such, it is important to evaluate all components of the implementation for better execution and the project’s sustainability. The implementation plan will be successful through the effective engagement of stakeholders and the provision of required resources.

References

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• Armstrong-Novak, J., Juan, H. Y., Cooper, K., & Bailey, P. (2023). Healthcare personnel hand
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• Choong, T. L., Lim, Z. J., Ho, A. G. T., & Goh, M. L. (2022). Increasing patient participation in
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• DeNisco, S. M. (2023). Advanced practice nursing Essential knowledge for the profession.
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  Heavey, E. (2022). Statistics for nursing A practical approach. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
  Kerr, H., & Rainey, D. (2021). Addressing the current challenges of adopting evidence-based
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• Melnyk, B. M., & Fineout-Overholt, E. (2022). Evidence-based practice in nursing &
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