First Advisor

Claywell, Lora

College

Rueckert-Hartman College for Health Professions

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice

School

Loretto Heights School of Nursing

Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

Number of Pages

124 pages

Abstract

Nurses lack knowledge about the use and importance of a nurse-driven urinary catheter removal protocol, an evidence-based tool empowering them to remove urinary catheters that are no longer needed or are inappropriate based on set criteria, without calling a physician. (Health Care Infection Control Practice Advisory Committee (HIPAC), 2009) Despite this autonomy, catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) are one of the leading hospital-acquired infections in many institutions (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2015).
A quasi-experimental pre post intervention in a medical-surgical telemetry floor of an acute hospital in North Carolina showed a statistically significant increase in knowledge among nurses after an educational intervention on the importance and use of a nurse-driven urinary catheter removal protocol. Pretest. (N=27) mean score 8.41 (SD=. 797) and posttest (n=24) mean score 9.75 (SD=. 442). (T =7. 125, p =. 001) CI: -17.20, 9.462 with a p value set @ = 0.05. No direct link was noted between knowledge and CAUTI, However, the unit maintained a zero CAUTI rate three months after the intervention which is clinically meaningful.
The main limitation of the study was the small sample size and the low CAUTI rates prior to the intervention. The main implication of the study, however, speaks volumes: Nurses, empowered with education and motivated with new awareness and guided by an evidence-based, nurse-driven protocol, may be the key in fighting high CAUTI rates, which makes them an asset in today’s value-based health care market.

Date of Award

Spring 2016

Location (Creation)

Colorado (state); Denver (county); Denver (inhabited place)

Rights Statement

All content in this Collection is owned by and subject to the exclusive control of Regis University and the authors of the materials. It is available only for research purposes and may not be used in violation of copyright laws or for unlawful purposes. The materials may not be downloaded in whole or in part without permission of the copyright holder or as otherwise authorized in the “fair use” standards of the U.S. copyright laws and regulations.

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