An Education Intervention to Improve Nurses? Knowledge to Reduce Catheter-Related Bloodstream Infection in Hemodialysis Unit

Central venous catheters (CVCs) are commonly used for vascular access for patients who require hemodialysis. Infectious complications remain a serious clinical problem associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality, prolonged hospital stay and increased cost of medical treatment. The purpose of this educational project is to evaluate the effectiveness of educating registered dialysis nurses regarding central venous catheter (CVC) maintenance care in order to reduce catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBSI) in a hemodialysis unit. The project question focuses on the educational program derived from the evidence-based guidelines recommended by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to improve registered dialysis nurses- knowledge regarding CVC maintenance care. The theoretical foundation of the study is based on Donabedian-s structure-process-outcomes model. In this project, nurses are regarded a structural element and using a self-study module education intervention to improve the process of providing CVC maintenance care. The study will use descriptive statistics, including percents, means, and standard deviations, to identify the predicted relationships between the nurses- knowledge of the evidence-based guidelines and demographic variables (age, gender, years of experience, level of education, infection control training). The t- tests will be conducted to analyze the pretest and posttest results of nurses- knowledge regarding CVC maintenance care. An understanding of the dialysis nurses- current knowledge level will allow adaptation of helpful strategies regarding patient outcomes in the context of CVC maintenance care.