BHA FPX 4010 Assessment 1 Research Problem and Purpose Statements BHA-FPX4010 Introduction to Health Care Research Part 1: Research Problem and Purpose Statements

In this paper, I will outline the background of my research, supported by relevant literature. I will also present evidence-based information that underpins the development of my research problem. Following this, I will formulate a problem statement based on pertinent literature and, finally, create a purpose statement that is also supported by literature.

Background and Evidence

The background research I have chosen focuses on the issue of foreign objects remaining in the body after surgery, which is classified as a hospital-acquired condition (HAC). The operating room is a high-pressure environment where checklists are utilized to ensure that all instruments are accounted for and that a timeout is conducted before and after surgical procedures. Despite these safety protocols, errors still occur, negatively impacting the surgical process. According to Pyrek (2017), approximately 28 million surgeries are performed annually in the United States, with reports indicating that between 4,000 and 6,000 cases involve retained surgical equipment left inside patients. Although advancements in medical practices and surgical techniques aim to prevent such occurrences, the issue of retained surgical items post-surgery continues to pose a significant challenge within the medical community (Fencl, 2016). The Joint Commission (TJC) defines unintended retention of foreign objects (URFOs), commonly known as retained surgical items (RSIs), as the inadvertent retention of a surgical instrument within a patient’s body following an invasive procedure (Fenner, 2019). The consequences of this can lead to infections or even fatalities.

Furthermore, surviving patients may endure both physical and emotional distress, depending on the nature of the retained item and the duration it remained in the body. The TJC categorizes RSIs as sentinel events, which are unexpected occurrences that result in death, physical harm, or psychological harm to a patient (Fenner, 2019). To address the increasing incidence of these sentinel events in healthcare, the TJC introduced the Universal Protocol in 2004. This protocol established measures aimed at reducing the risk of errors such as wrong-site surgery, wrong procedures, and incorrect equipment selection, as well as enhancing pre- and post-operative timeout practices (Kim et al., 2015). All actions taken in the operating room are to be verified by the entire surgical team to minimize the risk of patient harm. However, studies indicate that the effectiveness of TJC’s protocols has received mixed reviews, with mistakes still occurring, particularly in high-stress environments. Additionally, when such incidents are made public, they can damage a hospital’s reputation and credibility. Hospital transparency reveals that errors do occur, prompting the need for corrective actions to improve safety practices and reassure patients that hospitals are committed to learning from past mistakes to enhance patient care and well-being (Birolini, Rasslan, & Utiyama, 2016).

Part 2: Problem Statement

Each year, between 4,000 and 6,000 surgeries in the United States are reported to have retained surgical equipment left within patients’ bodies post-surgery. The key terms that highlight the problem in my statement are surgical, objects, and bodies. The literature provides evidence for this issue, supported by numerical data regarding the misappropriation of surgical equipment. The terminology used in the problem statement reflects the nature of the study, with terms such as retained, objects, and body. The literature emphasizes the recurrence of this sentinel event and underscores the need for close attention to address and resolve this issue that impacts patient outcomes.

Part 3: Purpose Statement

To mitigate the occurrence of retained surgical items, surgical departments should adopt the Five Steps to Safer Surgery as outlined by the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA). These safety measures encompass five critical steps: staff briefing, sign-in, timeout, sign-out, and debriefing before and after all surgical procedures (Birolini, Rasslan, & Utiyama, 2016). This study aims to develop an effective, error-free method to reduce the incidence of surgical instruments being left inside patients’ bodies and to decrease the resulting harm to patients from such unintended actions. The terminology in the purpose statement indicates the nature of the study, particularly the emphasis on safety measures. The evidence cited was published in 2016, thus falling within the recommended five-year timeframe.

References

Birolini, D. V., Rasslan, S., & Utiyama, E. M. (2016). Unintentionally retained foreign bodies after surgical procedures. Analysis of 4547 cases. SciELO Analytics, 43(1), 12–17. https://doi.org/10.1590