Task 2-PICO Question Paper.docx - 1 Running head...

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Running head: EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE TASK 2
Evidence Based Practice and Applied Nursing Research
Nikita P. Heisler
Wednesday, July 17, 2019
Western Governors University

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Running head: EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE TASK 2
Task 2: PICO Question Paper
Question: For patients with Foley catheters, does the use of nurse driven protocols reduce the
incidence of CAUTI, compared to standard foley protocols?
Modern healthcare is forever changing and evolving. Every year there is new evidence
that shows best practices that should and will be used in healthcare in the near future. One
healthcare problem that needed to be addressed is concerning urinary catheterization and the
high incidence of catheter associated urinary tract infections, also known as CAUTIs. Currently
it is highly prioritized in healthcare organizations, due to it causing patients harm. That is exactly
why it is significant enough for changes to be made around the protocols used with urinary
catheters. Most healthcare professionals take an oath to do no harm, however, there is an
increasing number of CAUTI incidences in health systems across the country. Those CAUTI
incidences are preventable, as long as healthcare professionals use the correct protocols and best
judgement. Healthcare personnel as a whole should be able to prevent CAUTIs as they can cause
other issues and more harm, such as sepsis if left untreated, and also delirium in specific patient
populations.
Currently, there are urinary catheterization protocols created by each health system, or via
physician orders or order sets. With that, it leaves the nursing staff with almost no room to use
their nursing skills and knowledge. Nurses are at the forefront of patient care, they spend the
most time with patients, yet they are vastly left out of decision making in patient care. As stated
previously, these protocols and order sets are placing patients in danger of obtaining a CAUTI.
This issue doesn’t necessarily pertain to specific patient’s cultural background, so that

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Running head: EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE TASK 2
information was not disclosed. This issue pertains to everyone, regardless of race, sex,
orientation, or age.
Two research articles and two non-research articles were used to gather a more
comprehensive overview of this issue. Both research articles are included in the evidence matrix,
explained later. The first of the research articles is a systematic review called “Nurse-driven
protocols and the prevention of catheter-associated urinary tract infections: A systematic review,”
written by Danielle J. Durant, MBA, MS and published in the American Journal of Infection
Control . Since this article is a systematic review, it creates a more comprehensive overview of
previous studies done on this same issue. 29 studies were found to be fit for this review.