Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2023

Abstract

Ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) is a preventable health condition causing increased hospital stays, over 35,000 deaths each year, and one of the costliest healthcare associated infections. VAP occurs when a patient develops pneumonia after being intubated and mechanically ventilated. Preventative measures are commonly in place amongst facilities, despite these measures VAPs still are occurring. Poor compliance with preventative measures have been observed in regards to oral care. Staff nurses in an intensive care unit (ICU) at a midwestern urban hospital were provided education on VAPs and preventative measures, with a focus on proper oral care. Staff nurses were given a survey before the educational intervention and seven months after to assess perceptions of importance as well as barriers to providing oral care. Data was collected from the ICU seven months before and after the educational intervention including oral care kit usage, ventilator days, and VAP occurrence. Education was found to increase compliance with oral care the month directly following the educational intervention. No significant change was found after the following months. Education did not impact VAP occurrence. Nurses had high perceived importance and confidence of performing oral care both before and after the educational intervention. Two main barriers to oral care compliance were time constraints due to patient acuity, which was significantly increased, and understaffing. These barriers to proper VAP preventative measures need to be addressed as findings indicate that nurses know and perceive preventative measures to be important but do not have the time to properly implement them.

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