A medical-surgical unit has experienced a recent increase in postoperative wound infections. The nursing team wants to participate in a quality improvement process to address this issue. What is the first step the team should take to effectively address this trend?
Develop an educational program to teach patients about postoperative infection prevention.
Implement additional hand hygiene training for all staff on the unit.
Gather data on infection rates, affected patients, and clinical variables to identify potential patterns.
Redesign wound care dressing protocols to enhance aseptic techniques.
The correct answer emphasizes the importance of identifying measurable data trends to understand the extent of the problem before implementing interventions. Defining the issue and collecting relevant data ensures that the team addresses the root cause of wound infections rather than making unsupported assumptions. Other answers focus on actions that are valuable in performance improvement but are premature without fully understanding the scope and source of the problem. For example, redesigning care processes or developing staff education are unlikely to succeed without first identifying what needs to be changed.
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