Effectiveness of Preventive Nursing Program for Multidrug-Resistant Organism Transmission: A Quasi-experimental Study

Abstract

Multidrug-resistant organism infections are a major public health problem. Promoting nurses’ practice in preventing multidrug-resistant infections can reduce hospital transmission. This quasi-experimental study investigated the effectiveness of a preventive nursing program for multidrug-resistant organism transmission. The study was carried out in the Department of Internal Medicine in a tertiary hospital in south Thailand. Participants in this study were registered nurses. Two wards were randomly selected as the experimental ward and two as the control ward, then participants from each ward were purposively selected. Finally, there were 60 participants, n = 31 from the experiment wards and n = 29 from the control wards. The experimental group received a 4-week program, whereas the control group followed the usual practice. Then, the practices in preventing multidrug-resistant organism transmission of the experimental and control groups were assessed 4 and 12 weeks after the program ended. The instruments for data collection included a demographic data form and a preventive practice observation form. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and a chi-square test. The results showed that, at 4 and 12 weeks after completion of the program, nurses in the experimental group had a significantly higher proportion of correct practices (hand hygiene, use of personal protective equipment, patient placement, patient transport, patient care equipment management, environmental management, and linen and infectious waste management of multidrug-resistant organism transmission) than before receiving the program and in the control group. The findings suggest that the program effectively improves nurses’ correct practices in preventing multidrug-resistant organism transmission. The program can be applied to promote and support preventive practices among nurses. However, long-term follow-ups with the incidence of multidrug-resistant organism transmission should be further studied. In addition, as this study was conducted with nurses working in the internal medicine wards of a tertiary hospital, it is necessary to evaluate the program's effectiveness with different samples prior to its widerimplementation.