Dr Ralston conceptualized the project and codirected its implementation, coordinated and critically reviewed all analyses, and drafted the initial manuscript; Dr Garber conceptualized the project and codirected its implementation and critically reviewed and revised the manuscript; Ms Rice-Conboy coordinated all aspects of project design, implementation, and data collection and critically reviewed and revised the manuscript; Drs Mussman, Shadman, and Walley provided project leadership and content, performed a portion of the analysis, and critically reviewed and revised the manuscript; Ms Nichols performed the analyses, prepared all tables and fi gures, and critically reviewed the manuscript; and all authors approved the fi nal manuscript as submitted.
Although there are potential drugs and vaccines in development to prevent or reduce the effects of RSV infection, palivizumab remains the only licensed product to reduce the severity of disease in high-risk pediatric patients.
Collaboration between ED and IP units was associated with a decreased use of unnecessary tests and therapies in bronchiolitis; top performers used few unnecessary tests or treatments.
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:
Adherence to the American Academy of Pediatrics safe sleep practice (SSP) recommendations among hospitalized infants is unknown, but is assumed to be low. This quality improvement study aimed to increase adherence to SSPs for infants admitted to a children’s hospital general care unit between October 2013 and December 2014.
METHODS:
After development of a hospital policy and redesign of room setup processes, a multidisciplinary team developed intervention strategies based on root cause analysis and implemented changes using iterative Plan–Do–Study–Act cycles. Nurse knowledge was assessed before and after education. SSPs were measured continuously with room audits during sleeping episodes. Statistical process control and run charts identified improvements and sustainability in hospital SSPs. Caregiver home practices after discharge were assessed via structured questionnaires before and after intervention.
RESULTS:
Nursing knowledge of SSPs increased significantly for each item (P ≤ .001) except avoidance of bed sharing. Audits were completed for 316 sleep episodes. Simultaneous adherence to all SSP recommendations improved significantly from 0% to 26.9% after intervention. Significant improvements were noted in individual practices, including maintaining a flat, empty crib, with an appropriately bundled infant. The largest gains were noted in the proportion of empty cribs (from 3.4% to 60.3% after intervention, P < .001). Improvements in caregiver home practices after discharge were not statistically significant.
CONCLUSIONS:
Sustained improvements in hospital SSPs were achieved through this quality improvement initiative, with opportunity for continued improvement. Nurse knowledge increased during the intervention. It is uncertain whether these findings translate to changes in caregiver home practices after discharge.
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