Browsing by Author "Akbal, Elif"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2

Citation Count: 6
Five Indications for Hand Hygiene Compliance among Healthcare Providers in a University Hospital
(Doc design informatics Co Ltd, 2013) Sen, Sevim; Sonmezoglu, Meral; Akbal, Elif; Ugur, Esra; Afacan, Sibel
Objective: Nowadays, one of the main reasons for the increase in healthcare costs is healthcare associated infections. It is a known fact that healthcare-associated infections are mostly transmitted by the hands of healthcare professionals. Hand hygiene compliance decreases hospital infection rates. In this study five indications for hand hygiene compliance among healthcare providers in a university hospital were investigated. Methods: Hand hygiene practices of the health professionals who work in inpatient clinics, outpatient clinics and emergency rooms were observed by clinical education nurses in a university hospital from December 2009 to January 2010. 112 Hand Hygiene Forms were filled out. Results: Total observation time was 17 805 minutes. The percentage of the filled out observation forms were 53% for nurses, 27% for medical doctors, 13% for unlicensed assistive personnel, and 7% for other healthcare professionals. Compliance with hand hygiene throughout the hospital was 75%. Hand hygiene was mostly applied after contact with the patient and his/her environment, and most common hand hygiene method was hand washing. Conclusions: Ensuring hand hygiene compliance of healthcare professionals is the first step in infection control programs to prevent nosocomial infections. As the study findings also point out, continuous education including hand hygiene indications and methods for all hospital staff, and evaluation of the success of the program is recommended.
Citation Count: 5
Postgraduate education needs of Nurses' who are caregivers for patients with diabetes
(Professional Medical Publications, 2015) Ugur, Esra; Demir, Hulya; Akbal, Elif
Objective: Diabetic management process requires nurses with expert knowledge and patient care skills. This study was carried out to identify nurses' diabetic care approaches and their post graduate education needs in order to develop a "Basic Diabetes Patient Care Education Program" in a university hospital in Turkey. Methods: The descriptive study, using the survey technique, was carried out in a university hospital with 87 bedside nurses who were caring for diabetic patients. Investigators developed data collection tool consisting of closed ended questions and opportunities for open-ended responses. Results: Among the 87 nurses, 88.5% were staff nurses, and 11.5% were nurse managers. The mean age was 27.41 +/- 4.82 and years of professional experience was 6.86 +/- 4.23. The 41.4% of nurses stated that they were caring for 1-2 patients with diabetes per week and 72.4% of nurses stated that they had attended an educational session about diabetes after graduation. The 95.4% of nurses reported a need for a continuous education program for diabetes patient care. Medication regimen (69.0%) and special care applications such as wound care (54.0%) were the most needed educational requirements. There were no difference in educational needs based on basic education or years of professional experience (p>0.05). Conclusions: Nurses caring for patients with diabetes should be supported by orientation, in-service education and continuing education programs. Additionally, the placement of patient care courses for chronic diseases, like diabetes, into the core curriculum of nursing schools would be useful in responding to actual patient care and family needs.