Dr Karen Davies1,2,3, Mr Fanuel Garayi5, Ms Leena Prasad5, Ms Shannaen Gilbert5, Ms Michelle Crawford5, Dr Peter Donovan2,3, Professor Samantha Keogh2,4, Professor Ian Coombes2,3
1Herston Infectious Disease Institute, Herston, Australia, 2Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Herston, Australia, 3University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, 4Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Australia, 5Brighton Health Campus, Brisbane, Australia
Biography:
Dr Davies is a clinician research Fellow with QH, Herston Infectious Disease Institute (HeIDI) and the University of Queensland. Karen is also CNC Safe Medication Practice at the RBWH. Karen’s research focus is implementing the Medication Administration Evaluation and Feedback Tool (MAEFT) to support nurses practice and vascular access management.
Abstract:
Introduction
Medication administration is complex requiring multiple steps for the safe delivery of medications and infection prevent control (IPC). The Medication Administration Evaluation and Feedback Tool (MAEFT) assesses clinical and procedural steps including IPC for safe medication administration incorporating adult learning principles (self-reflection, assessment, and feedback). The aim was to improve medication administration and IPC practice standards.
Methods
The study was a hybrid II effectiveness-implementation pre/post design with three phases: control (two weeks), intervention (four weeks), and follow-up (two weeks). 87 consented nurses from three community rehabilitation service wards were studied. The primary outcome was adherence to medication administration procedures, including IPC. The intervention used the MAEFT for nurses to self-assess their performance before being observed administering medications and provided with formative feedback. Participant acceptability was also measured with a 10-question survey.
Results
At baseline (control), adherence to the five moments of hand hygiene was 7%, compared with 58% with the MAEFT intervention, and 56% at follow-up. For self-assessment immediately prior to observation, nurses believed they adhered to infection prevention guidelines however on observation there was a 49% (p<0.005) improvement conducting the 5 moments of hand hygiene, 7% increase in asking the patient what they are allergic to, and 11% improvement in checking medication expiry dates. On survey participants found the process a positive experience.
Conclusion
The MAEFT achieves a statistically significant improvement in nurses’ compliance with medication safety including IPC practice, compared to usual practice.