
Project One: Protocol Proposal
Abstract
We will examine current health and safety protocols at local hospitals including how to amend current policy. We will then write protocols that meet the WHO criteria for hand hygiene and recommend local hospitals adopt these standards.
Measurements
Primary Measurements
Categorical Variables
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Adoption of the protocol
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Adherence to WHO standards
Secondary Measurements
Interval Variables
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Similarity in language to current hospital policy
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# of upper-level staff supporting the protocol
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# of physicians supporting the protocol
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Execution of current hospital policy
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Execution of hand hygiene policy (if adopted)
Process
(1) We will research current hospitall policy and analyze the type of language used, amendment process, current health policy on health hygiene, and the level of execution of current policy. (2) We will then write hand hygiene policy that meets current WHO standards in language cognizable by local Calcutta hospitals. (3) Starting in June 2014 we will meet several times with upper level management and physicians in local hospitalsl to develop long-term support for the protocol. (4) In April 2015 we will formally recommend the policy.
Challenges
1) Literature from Virginia Mason Medical Center characterizes physicians as a conservative group. To change policy indicates that previous policy was wrong. This trait impedes implementation of new policy, particularly by foreign agents. (2) We will have difficulty as foreign agents in understanding the nuances of implementing new policy. We will have to work closely with a supporting population of staff and physicians who have successfully amended policy in the past. (3) Introducing policy may not be effective if physicians and nurses do not follow extant hospital guidelines.