Hospital Acquired Infection

Abstract

Hospital acquired infections are serious burden on hospitals, leading to poor patient outcome, increased costs and capable of terminating life. This thesis examines the causes and factors causing it and how to prevent hospital acquired infection using Jean Watson’s Theory of Human Caring, which focuses on holistic care, empathy, and personalized attention. It explores the roles of nurses, the importance of aseptic techniques, antibiotic consumption regulation, double checking of medication, Assessment of patient’s needs, patient education, and environmental controls in reducing and preventing hospital acquired infections. The study highlights the growing need for effective infection prevention strategies that combine technical expertise with compassionate care.

A scoping review methodology was used with a broad literature search of scientific database which included: EBSCO, CINAHL complete, PubMed, MEDLINE and Googlescholar. The research analysed how infection prevention measures align with Watson’s theory. Key findings show that aseptic practices like hand hygiene and sterile procedures are essential for protecting both patients and nurses. Environmental improvement and strong management culture also play crucial roles in creating safe caring spaces. Nurses’ contributions, particularly in education and monitoring, were found to be central to lowering hospital acquired infection and addressing antimicrobial resistance.

The study concludes that integrating Watson’s theory into infection control improves both patient safety and emotional wellbeing. It also suggests the use of advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence, to monitor, detect, arrest, and neutralize airborne infections as well as to monitor and promote compliance with infection prevention practices. Hence, e-nurse which is driven by AI is therefore recommended for future studies and development.