Reducing the risk of healthcare‐associated infections through Lean Six Sigma: The case of the medicine areas at the Federico II University Hospital in Naples (Italy)

Rationale, aims, and objectives

Lean Six Sigma (LSS) has been recognized as an effective management tool for improving healthcare performance. Here, LSS was adopted to reduce the risk of healthcare‐associated infections (HAIs), a critical quality parameter in the healthcare sector.

Methods

Lean Six Sigma was applied to the areas of clinical medicine (including general medicine, pulmonology, oncology, nephrology, cardiology, neurology, gastroenterology, rheumatology, and diabetology), and data regarding HAIs were collected for 28,000 patients hospitalized between January 2011 and December 2016. Following the LSS define, measure, analyse, improve, and control cycle, the factors influencing the risk of HAI were identified by using typical LSS tools (statistical analyses, brainstorming sessions, and cause‐effect diagrams). Finally, corrective measures to prevent HAIs were implemented and monitored for 1 year after implementation.

Results

Lean Six Sigma proved to be a useful tool for identifying variables affecting the risk of HAIs and implementing corrective actions to improve the performance of the care process. A reduction in the number of patients colonized by sentinel bacteria was achieved after the improvement phase.

Conclusions

The implementation of an LSS approach could significantly decrease the percentage of patients with HAIs.     

A nurse–family partnership intervention to increase the self‐efficacy of family caregivers and reduce catheter‐associated urinary tract infection in catheterized patients

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a nurse–family partnership model on the self‐efficacy of family caregivers (FCs) and the incidence of catheter‐associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) among patients. A randomized controlled study was conducted. We recruited 61 patients and their FCs, who were randomly divided into an experimental group (n = 30) and a control group (n = 31). In the experimental group, the main caregivers comprised a nurse–family partnership, whereas the control participants received routine care. The findings were as follows: (i) the incidence of CAUTI was lower in the experimental group than in the control group (20% vs. 38.8%), but the difference was not statistically significant; and (ii) no significant difference emerged for reported Caregiver Self‐Efficacy Score between the two groups. The nursing team and FCs must become partners in cooperative caregiving to enhance the quality of patient care.     

六西格玛管理理论在我科护理管理中的运用

目的提高工作效率和工作质量,确保科室护理安全。方法根据持续质量改进体系和六西格玛5步法(即界定、测量、分析、改进、控制)对我科进行管理,界定项目问题为护理人力不足;病房环境、工作流程无法保证护理的高质量;测量并分析该问题存在的原因,包括影响护士人力因素及影响护理质量的因素;制订质量改进方案,改进排班,降低各班次流程步骤的复杂性,采取减少各类操作失误的措施;将改进措施形成常规工作制度并进行控制。结果护理质量、病人满意度及护士对工作满意度均明显提高,护理差错减少(P<0.01)。结论运用六西格玛管理理论指导科室管理,可以提高工作质量和工作效率。     

Incidence and risk factors of catheter‐associated urinary tract infection in Yazd – Iran

Catheter‐associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) is the most common nosocomial infection, accounting for more than 1 million cases each year in the US hospitals and nursing homes. The significant number of infections and dissemination of resistant bacteria in hospitals make it important to find ways to decrease their incidence. The aim of the study was to describe the incidence and risk factors of CAUTIs. A cohort study was conducted from 2003 to 2008 on every patient who became catheterized consecutively. Variables included age, sex, indications for catheterization, antimicrobials usage, duration of catheterization and hospital stay, and type and colony count of microorganism. The incidence was 21·8%, the risk factor identified was duration of catheterization [relative risk 1·213, 95% CI (1·053–1·398)] while usage of antimicrobials was protective [relative risk 0·433, 95% CI (0·237–0·792)]. Organisms isolated were: Esherichia coli 23%, Enterobacter 8·1%, Staphylococcus aureus 10·8%, Pseudomonas aeuroginosa 5·4%, coagulase negative Staphylococcus 9·4%, klebsiella 4%, Proteus mirabilis 2·8%, yeasts 9·46%, Enterococcus 4%, Acinetobacter 1·4% and mixed growth of bacteria 21·6%. The incidence of CAUTI was slightly higher than in the studies from the developing countries. Daily monitoring to decrease duration of catheterization is reemphasized.     

运用六西格玛提高洁净手术室动态空气质量的效果

目的：探讨六西格玛管理法在洁净手术室动态空气质量管理中的应用及效果.方法：采用六西格玛管理方法定义、测量、分析、改进、控制5个步骤对手术中空气质量进行管理,对实施前后效果进行评价.结果：实施六西格玛管理后手术人员着装更规范、开门情况得到减少、空气质量得到改善（P＜0.05）,达到了预期目标.结论：应用六西格玛对手术间进行管理,可提高手术间空气质量,为手术患者提供一个洁净、安全的手术环境.     

How discourses of social vulnerability can influence nurse–patient interactions: A Foucauldian analysis

This article uncovers the current discursive practices concerning socially vulnerable people in Danish society. A discourse analytical approach inspired by Michel Foucault, along with contributions from Erving Goffmann's work ‘Stigma’, is utilized throughout the analysis. First, the dominant discursive formations are described across the data material, consisting of sociopolitical and health policy documents. Second, we uncover how problematizations and mechanisms of power along with the emergence of the competition state push socially vulnerable people out into the periphery of society. Finally, we discuss responsibility regarding social vulnerability and the structural injustice that follows. Our aim is to facilitate critical awareness of how socially vulnerable people are constructed and contribute to destabilizing accepted meanings and perceptions of social vulnerability. This study shows that being categorized as socially vulnerable is associated with poor health behavior and perceived as being in a dependent relationship with superior systems. The analysis points to a focus on strengthening and developing the work capacity of socially vulnerable people. Thus, the objective of the analyzed documents revolves around securing socially vulnerable people's contribution to society's economy. This article contributes with a perspective on how society, and therefore also healthcare professionals, perceive and interact with socially vulnerable people.     

Work experiences among nurses and physicians in the beginning of their professional careers – analyses using the effort–reward imbalance model

Scand J Caring Sci; 2013; 27; 36–43 Work experiences among nurses and physicians in the beginning of their professional careers – analyses using the effort–reward imbalance model The aim of the study was to scrutinise how nurses and physicians, employed by the county councils in Sweden, assess their work environment in terms of effort and reward at the start of their career. The aim was also to estimate associations between work satisfaction and the potential outcomes from the effort–reward imbalance (ERI) questionnaire. The study group, 198 nurses and 242 physicians who graduated in 1999, is a subsample drawn from a national cross‐sectional survey. Data were collected in the third year after graduation among the nurses and in the fourth year after graduation among registered physicians. The effort–reward imbalance questionnaire, together with a question on work satisfaction, was used to evaluate psychosocial factors at work. The results reveal that nurses scored higher on effort, lower on reward and experienced higher effort–reward imbalance, compared with physicians. Women scored higher on work‐related overcommitment (WOC) compared with men. Among the physicians, logistic regression analysis revealed a statistically significant association between WOC and ERI, sex, effort and reward. Logistic regression analysis also revealed a statistically significant association between WOC and ERI and between WOC and effort among the nurses. Dissatisfaction with work was significantly higher among those who scored worst on all three ERI subscales (effort, reward and WOC) and also among those with the highest ERI ratios compared with the other respondents. In conclusion, to prevent future work‐related health problems and work dissatisfaction among nurses and physicians in the beginning of their professional careers, signs of poor psychosocial working conditions have to been taken seriously. In future work‐related stress research among healthcare personnel, gender‐specific aspects of working conditions must be further highlighted to develop more gender‐sensitive analyses.     

Multidimensional approach to restraint minimization: The journey of a specialized mental health organization

The executive‐level witnessing and review of restraint events has been identified as a key strategy for restraint minimization. In the present study, we examined the changes in restraint practices at a tertiary‐level mental health‐care facility with implementation of an initiative, in which representatives from senior management, professional practice, peer support, and clinical ethics witnessed seclusion and restraint events, and rounded with clinical teams to discuss timely release and brainstorm prevention strategies. Interrupted time series analysis compared the change from pre‐implementation (14 months prior) to postimplementation (35 months’ following) in the number of incidents/month, total hours/month, and average hours/incident/month for each of seclusion and mechanical restraint. With implementation, there was a step decrease in average hours/seclusion (–28.3 hours/seclusion, P < 0.001) and total seclusion hours (–1264.5 hours, P = 0.002). The postimplementation rate of decrease of –0.9 hours/incident/month was different than the pre‐implementation rate of increase of 0.7 hours/incident/month for mechanical restraint (P = 0.03). Pre‐implementation, there was a rate of decrease of 6.1 incidents/month (P < 0.001) and 4.5 incidents/month (P = 0.001) for seclusion and mechanical restraint, respectively. Postimplementation, there was a rate of increase of 0.3 incidents/month and a rate of decrease of 0.05 incidents/month for seclusion and mechanical restraint, respectively, both of which were different than pre‐implementation (seclusion: P < 0.001, mechanical restraint: P = 0.002). In conclusion, the total hours of seclusion and average hours per seclusion and per restraint incident were reduced, demonstrating the value of leadership witnessing and daily rounds in promoting restraint minimization in tertiary‐level mental health care.