Policy Assignment Paper
The instructions will be attached . Please pay attention to both the instructions and the rubric. You can choose whatever policies. you did a paper on infection control . i will insert the order # in the message book so that you can look at it
Policy Assignment
A summary of the policy
The policy of interest is the infection control policies targeted at addressing Covid-19 pandemic with a focus on halting the spread of the virus. Although hospitals are known to heal, the presence of Covid-19 pandemic threatens this as the pandemic has turned the possibility of contracting an infection in hospital from an unfathomable event into a fathomable event. That being said, in the presence of Covid-19 pandemic, it is not uncommon for the hospital environment to threaten the health of people. This state of affairs has necessitated the development of policies to curtail the spread of the virus with a focus on maintaining the health of stakeholders, and the reputation and quality of hospital. These infection control policies are presented as targeted approaches for preventing the spread of the infection. The specific infection control policies that hospitals apply include hand hygiene, wearing gloves and gown, using a face mask, respiratory hygiene and cough etiquette, regular cleaning, waste disposal, avoiding unnecessary contact, maintaining a safe distance in public, and cleaning patient care equipment (Islam et al., 2020). Policy Assignment Paper
Why you chose this policy
The choice of infection control policies targeted at addressing Covid-19 pandemic in hospitals has been occasioned by the continued threat of the virus. Covid-19 continues to rage as it infections more people with the numbers of fatalities rising. The global population is likely to be threatened if the situation continues unabated. In addition, hospitals contain individuals whose health is threatened and feel that the hospital offers them an opportunity to return to good health. Most of these patients have compromised immunities that reduce the possibility of recovery once infected by Covid-19. Through highlighting the importance of implementing these infection control policies, hospitals can create a safe environment from patients that supports their health recovery and wellbeing, while protecting the health of other stakeholders who include medical personnel (Lo et al., 2021).
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Why there is a need for the policy
There is a need for hospitals to implement the infection control policies targeted at addressing Covid-19 pandemic. That is because hospitals are already under threat from hospital acquired infections (HAIs), and Covid-19 adds to that threat. Through diligently implementing the infection control policies, patients and other stakeholders would be safer from contracting and spreading Covid-19 virus within the hospital environment. In addition, the policy provides a structured approach for protecting stakeholders within the hospital environment as it details the appropriate infection control actions with justifications for each action (Lo et al., 2021).
What revisions or changes for future recommendations would you make
While the infection control policies have been effective, they can be improved. Firstly, they can be improved by being mandated since Covid-19 is a public health threat. The unfortunate reality is that although the policies are effective and supported by significant evidence, the choice of what policies to apply is left to the discretion of each hospital. This has created a situation in which some of the hospitals diligently apply the policies while others only partially apply them. Through mandating the policies, hospitals that do not apply them would be subjected to some form of punishment thus acting as an impetus for the application of the policies. Secondly, there is a need to mandate vaccination as part of the infection control policies. That is because vaccination plays a significant supportive role for the policies in reducing the rates of infection even when exposed to the virus, and reducing the severity of the illness if the virus is contracted (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2020).
References
Islam, M. S., Rahman, K. M., Sun, Y., Qureshi, M. O., Abdi, I., Chughtai, A. A., & Seale, H. (2020). Current knowledge of COVID-19 and infection prevention and control strategies in healthcare settings: A global analysis. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol., 15, 1-11. https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/ice.2020.237
Lo, S-H., Lin, C-H., Hung, C-T., He, J-J., & Lu, P-L. (2021). The impact of universal face masking and enhanced hand hygiene for COVID-19 disease prevention on the incidence of hospital-acquired infections in a Taiwanese hospital. International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 104, 15-18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2020.12.072
Stanhope, M., & Lancaster, J. (2020). Public Health Nursing: Population-Centered Health Care in the Community. Elsevier, Inc.
Policy Process Assessment is a technique for determining where a policy is in the policy development process. In this assignment, you will use your workplace or the Internet to locate a healthcare policy. If you select a policy from your workplace please do not disclose the name of your employer due to confidentiality.
For this assignment, you will be describing the following in APA formatted paragraphs:
- A summary of the policy and why you chose this policy,
- why there is a need for the policy,
- what revisions or changes for future recommendations would you make, providing rationale for your suggested changes or actions
Make sure to also include in your summary who the stakeholders are for the policy as well as who would need to approve any proposed changes. Be sure to provide any evidence you rely on in support of your suggestions in accurate APA citation. The evidence must be a current (within 5 years), peer-reviewed journal article on evidence-based practice or best practices. The toolkit listed as a resource can be used to guide your work – please adhere to the assignment guidelines as listed above.
