Quantitative Research
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Quantitative Research
In summary, the article, Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Contamination of Healthcare Workers’ Uniforms in Long-Term Care Facilities focuses on the extent to which nurses working in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) act as vectors of infections arising from multidrug resistant organisms (MDROs) such as MRSA due to the contamination of their respective uniforms. In order to determine the validity of this argument, a quantitative design is implemented within the methodology. In this respect, the design that is incorporated involves a descriptive study. The study mainly analyzes the contamination of nurses’ uniforms as well as that of other healthcare workers by MRSA in three elderly volunteer LTCFs. Additionally, the descriptive study assesses the effects of shielding equipment as well as ‘pocket control’ instruction (Gaspard et al. 2009). The respective care facilities possessed corresponding demographics and processes. Furthermore, the LTCFs were based in three different hospitals that belonged to a similar healthcare network within a 15km² geographical region (Gaspard et al. 2009).
The sampled uniforms were washed by professional hospital laundries at temperatures exceeding 70°C, while incorporating alkaline agents. Culminating tunnels positioned at 3 minutes and a temperature of 140 °C was utilized to dry the respective clothing (Gaspard et al. 2009). The colonization level for the MRSA (skin lesions, anterior nares, and perineal area) for the patients in the sections was not considerably disparate (section 1 – 15.2%, section 2 – 16%, section 3 – 17.9%). Additionally, the mean ages per unit comprised 83.8, 86.2, and 85.1 in that order (Gaspard et al. 2009). The percentage based on conformity was computed. This was done by multiplying the amount of conditions with full compliance and the amount of the clothing samples used by 100 (Gaspard et al. 2009). Regarding the uniforms, percentage concerning the use of a single work-shift was computed. Lastly, the assessment regarding the decontamination of the pocket contents took place allowing for the computation of percentage conformity with instructions.
Reference
Gaspard, P., Eschbach, E., Gunther, D., Gayet, S., Bertrand, X., & Talon, D. (2009). Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus contamination of healthcare workers’ uniforms in long-term care facilities. Journal of Hospital Infection, 71(2), 170-175.