Isolation in Elderly Patients: Evidence-Based Care

PICOT Question

In male and female patients aged 70-90, how does the use of isolation measures compared to the application of PPE affect the levels of infection within a month?

Descriptive Statement

Providing services to the elderly members of the population in the context of an emergency room (ER) setting is a challenging task for a number of reasons, the numerous threats to the patients’ health being the key ones. Even with the adoption of the relevant precaution measures, there will always be a threat of exposing the patient to the risks of contracting an infection (Wang et al., 2015). Therefore, an enhancement of the existing strategies aimed at ensuring patient safety and the provision of a positive outcome should be considered because of the effects of negative factors such as the presence of other patients, the smoking-related factors, etc. (Barba et al., 2014).

Elderly members of the population, particularly patients aged 70-90, will be viewed as the target audience of the study. The reasons for focusing on the identified members of the population are quite evident. Due to the age factor, elderly people are exposed to a considerably larger number of negative factors in the ER setting than the rest of the patients. Therefore, the means of enhancing the possibility of a positive outcome must be sought.

Using isolation precautions is viewed as the primary intervention tool since it will supposedly help avoid further infections of the patients in question. As explained above, the presence of other patients, as well as the lack of care from nursing staff members, often becomes the pivotal factor in the patterns of the patient’s recovery process. Therefore, it is crucial that the target audience should be isolated from any influence that can be deemed as potentially harmful (Caldwell, Srebotnjak, Wang, & Hsia, 2015).

The application of the isolation techniques will be compared to the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the ER setting. As a result, essential conclusions concerning the efficacy of both approaches will be provided. It is expected that the adoption of the identified framework will help increase the levels of patient safety in the ER environment. Particularly, it is believed that the use of the given strategy will contribute to a reduction in the levels of exposure to infections (Wie et al., 2013).

It is assumed that the desired outcome will be achieved within the next month. While the intervention and the introduction of the identified model will take a smaller amount of time (i.e., approximately two weeks), it will also be necessary to compare the outcomes of the intervention with the ones of a traditional method described above. Furthermore, it should be borne in mind that infections may manifest themselves in patients several days after them being exposed to the threats that the environment of the ER incorporates. Therefore, a month should be viewed as the time in which the outcomes of the study can be achieved.

Providing patients with an environment in which their recovery process can occur at a faster pace and where they can feel secure is a crucial part of a nurse’s responsibilities. Therefore, one must reconsider the current approach toward meeting the needs of patients in the ER environment by preventing instances of infection among them. For this purpose, the idea of isolating the target audience from the negative factors that surround them in the context of an ER must be considered. Implying a change in not only the setting but also the behavior of the nurses (i.e., greater caution and adherence to the instructions), the suggested technique is bound to have a significant impact on the recovery rates among the elderly (70-90-year-old) patients.

References

Barba, O., Clusa, T., Menacho, I., Sequiera, E., Moreno, L., Gonzalez, E…. Leon, A. (2014). Shared care unit: A new model of coordinating HIV care between primary settings and hospital. International Journal of Integrated Care, 16(6), 1-8. Web.

Caldwell, N., Srebotnjak, T., Wang, T., & Hsia, R. (2015). ‘‘How much will I get charged for this?’’ Patient charges for top ten diagnoses in the emergency department. PLoS One, 8(2), e55491. Web.

Wang, J. T., Chang, S. C., Chang, F. Y., Fung, C. P., Chuang, Y. C., Cheng, Y. S. … Lauderdale, T. L. Y. (2015). Antimicrobial non-susceptibility of escherichia coli from outpatients and patients visiting emergency rooms in Taiwan. PLoS One, 10(12), e0144103. Web.

Wie , S. H., So, B. H., Song, J. Y., Cheong, H. J., Seo, Y. B., Choi, S. H., … Kim, W. J. (2013). A comparison of the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of adult patients with laboratory confirmed influenza A or B during the 2011-2012 influenza season in Korea: A multi-center study. PLoS One, 8(5), e62685. Web.