NURS FPX 8035 Assessment 3 Restate The PICOT Question and Outcomes of the Intervention

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Capella university

NURS-FPX 8035 Foundations of Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing

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Date

Restating the PICOT Question and Outcomes of the Intervention

Introduction to the PICOT Framework in Healthcare

The PICOT framework is widely recognized in evidence-based healthcare as a tool for formulating focused clinical inquiries. This approach helps healthcare professionals develop specific questions by structuring them around five elements: Patient/Population (P), Intervention (I), Comparison (C), Outcome (O), and Time (T). The clinical question guiding this research is: “Among hospitalized patients (P), does the utilization of an incident reporting mechanism (I), compared to not having such a system (C), enhance patient safety outcomes (O) over a six-month period (T)?” This question is grounded in the work of Petschnig and Haslinger-Baumann (2017), who highlighted the importance of structured reporting systems in minimizing risks and enhancing patient care quality.

Defining the Components of the PICOT Question

Each aspect of the PICOT question plays a crucial role in outlining the study’s direction:

P (Patient/Population): Individuals admitted to a hospital for medical treatment.
I (Intervention): Introduction and use of an incident reporting protocol in the hospital.
C (Comparison): The scenario where no incident reporting procedure is in place.
O (Outcome): Measurement of patient safety improvements such as fewer medication errors or patient falls.
T (Time): A defined six-month period to evaluate the intervention’s impact.

Utilizing this structured format enables researchers to align clinical inquiries with measurable goals, facilitating the assessment of quality improvement efforts and evidence-based strategies in healthcare systems.

Outcomes of the Intervention

The principal aim of implementing an incident reporting tool is to mitigate harm to patients, nursing staff, and other hospital personnel. By preventing adverse events such as medication errors, allergic reactions, and falls, the hospital can significantly enhance its safety standards. Historical data show that in 2018, there were three patient falls and two allergic reactions due to medication mistakes. In 2019, incidents increased slightly, with four patient falls, one nurse injury, and one staff-related error.

However, the 2020 implementation of the incident reporting system demonstrated notable progress. During that year, no patient falls were recorded, and only one case of an allergic reaction was reported. These statistics mark a 100% reduction in falls and a 50% decrease in allergic reactions compared to the previous year. Moreover, no staff or nurse injuries occurred, underscoring the effectiveness of the intervention (Petschnig & Haslinger-Baumann, 2017).

Monitoring the Ongoing Intervention

The intervention is set to be continually evaluated over a three-month cycle, allowing real-time tracking and adjustments based on incident trends. To measure its performance, several key performance indicators (KPIs) will be monitored:

Weekly incident reporting rates.
Average response time for resolving incidents.

Additional data will be collected, including incident classifications, involved personnel, response durations, and patient characteristics like age and gender. Reports will be compiled on a weekly, monthly, and annual basis to recognize both short-term and long-term patterns, thus enabling informed decision-making and timely intervention adjustments.

Ensuring Sustainability of the Intervention

Long-term sustainability of any healthcare intervention requires active support from leadership. As noted by Carlfjord et al. (2018), strategic involvement from hospital administration plays a vital role in the ongoing success of incident reporting practices. Management should facilitate interdisciplinary meetings involving nurses, physicians, and ancillary staff to gather feedback and promote ownership of the system. This collaborative model fosters continual improvement in safety outcomes and encourages staff engagement.

Conclusion

The introduction of a structured incident reporting process within hospital settings has proven to be an effective strategy for reducing safety-related incidents. The significant decline in patient falls and medication errors supports the continuation and broader implementation of such systems. The PICOT framework provides a systematic method for assessing clinical interventions, ultimately improving safety standards and fostering a culture of accountability in healthcare environments.

Table: Summary of PICOT Framework Components

Component	Description
P (Patient/Population)	Hospitalized patients receiving medical services.
I (Intervention)	Implementation of an incident reporting protocol.
C (Comparison)	Environment without the presence of a reporting system.
O (Outcome)	Enhanced patient safety, with fewer medication errors and patient falls.
T (Time)	Evaluation period spanning six months.

References

Carlfjord, S., Ohrn, A., & Gunnarsson, A. (2018). Experiences from ten years of incident reporting in health care: A qualitative study among department managers and coordinators. BMC Health Services Research, 18(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-018-3534-2

Petschnig, W., & Haslinger-Baumann, E. (2017). Critical Incident Reporting System (CIRS): A fundamental component of risk management in health care systems to enhance patient safety. Safety in Health, 3(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40886-017-0060-3