Evaluating the Implementation of a Multi-Component Intervention to Prevent Surgical Site Infection and Promote...

Area of Science:

• Healthcare quality improvement
• Infection prevention and control
• Evidence-based practice implementation

Background:

• Published clinical practice guidelines for surgical site infection (SSI) prevention exist.
• Suboptimal adherence to current SSI prevention guidelines necessitates improved strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of co-created intervention and implementation strategies for SSI prevention.
• To assess the perceived benefits of these strategies by clinicians.

Main Methods:

• Mixed-method evaluation employing pre- and post-intervention audits of nurses' wound care practices.
• Qualitative data collection through focus groups and individual interviews to understand perceived benefits.
• Descriptive statistical and content analyses for quantitative and qualitative data, respectively.

Main Results:

• Significant improvements observed in aseptic technique and wound care documentation post-intervention.
• Nurses found the change champion effective in role-modeling best practices.
• Educational tools like posters and quizzes were perceived as helpful for applying aseptic techniques.

Conclusions:

• Integrated knowledge translation approach ensured relevance and appropriateness of interventions for clinicians.
• Change champions are vital for driving and supporting implementation processes.
• Sustained improvements in evidence-based practice are achievable through ongoing education, audit, and feedback loops.