Improving the quality of nurse-influenced patient care in the intensive care unit.
BACKGROUND
Quality of care is a major focus in the intensive care unit (ICU).


AIM
To describe a nurse-initiated quality improvement (QI) project that improved the care of critically ill patients in a New Zealand tertiary ICU.


DESIGN
A framework for QI was developed and implemented as part of a practice change initiative.


METHODS
Audit data were collected, analysed and reported across seven nurse-influenced patient care standards. The seven standards were enteral nutrition delivered within 24 h of admission, timely administration of antibiotics, sedation holds for eligible patients, early mobilization and three pressure ulcer prevention strategies.


RESULTS
Comparison of audit data collected in 2014 and 2015 demonstrated improvements in five of the seven standards. Those standards with the largest practice improvements were related to the following standards: all eligible patients have enteral nutrition commenced within the first 24 h of ICU admission (3% increase); all eligible patients receive antibiotics within 30 min of prescription time (6% increase); all eligible patients have a daily sedation interruption (DSI; 24% increase); and all eligible patients are mobilized daily in their ICU stay (11% increase in percentage of patients mobilized daily).


CONCLUSIONS
The nursing-initiated QI project demonstrated improved ICU patient care in relation to early enteral nutrition commencement, DSIs and early and daily mobilizing.


RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE
The use of a nursing QI framework incorporating audit and feedback is one method of evaluating and enhancing the quality of care and improving patient outcomes. This initiative demonstrated the improved quality of nursing care for ICU patients, particularly in relation to early enteral nutrition commencement, timely antibiotics, DSIs and daily mobilizing. It is thus highly relevant to critical care nursing teams, particularly those working to create a culture where change is safe, achievable and valued.
['Sutton|Lynsey J|LJ|', 'Jarden|Rebecca J|RJ|']
D003422:Critical Care D064648:Critical Care Nursing D016638:Critical Illness D005260:Female D006801:Humans D007362:Intensive Care Units D008297:Male D009520:New Zealand D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations D005791:Patient Care D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic D058996:Quality Improvement D013997:Time Factors D016896:Treatment Outcome
Quality of care Practice change Audit Nursing care