Essay on Enhancing Patient Safety: Evidence-Based Practices and Credible Sources in Healthcare

Introduction

Patient safety is one of the crucial elements in ensuring the delivery of quality healthcare. I once encountered a case where a patient contracted another infection in the hospital after he had fully recovered. The patient was admitted to the same ward with another suffering from an infectious disease, but there were no precautionary measures due to his need for immediate medical attention. Patient safety is termed as the prevention of harm to patients and is based on the quality of care delivery. Patient safety involves preventing errors and learning from errors that occur in the course of care for patients and should be based upon a safety culture that guides healthcare providers' contact (Hessels & Larson, 2016). Although there is a concrete definition of patient safety, there is still a gap concerning specific ways and their connection to enhancing safety in certain situations. There is a need to utilize evidence-based practice to promote the best approach to patient safety. Evidence-based practice is appropriate in ensuring that new scenarios are known because it fosters collaboration.

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Criteria for Determining the Credibility Of Sources

One of the criteria to use in evaluating sources' credibility s is investigating whether the author or the organization providing the information has the required training to provide the information. Authors with professional knowledge in a given subject are likely to provide credible information that is well-researched and scientifically proven (Fielding, 2019). Some sources provide background information about the authors of the sources or the organization in charge of a given website. In situations where the information is not provided, information about the authors can be searched online to determine whether experts in the field wrote it. It can also be done by looking at the website's purpose for publishing the information. Also, the source must be sponsored or owned by organizations that have an interest in the field. Patient safety is a field that is continuously evolving, characterized by changes in technology, which present new sets of safety issues. As such, sources written by professionals in the area are likely to contain up-to-date information that can help provide patient care based on scientific evidence.

The second criterion is the content and quality of the information found in the resource. Resources can be evaluated based on the individuals' information on a given subject. Based on these criteria, references can be assessed by looking at the evidence provided to justify the information contained in the sources (Fielding, 2019). It can also be done by comparing the evidence provided to check whether it is similar to what is already known to healthcare professionals. Therefore, healthcare professionals can judge the resource by comparing what they know with information in the sources.

The third criterion of evaluating sources' credibility is by looking at whether the information published in the resource is current. Information in sources must be updated to conform to changes taking place in the field (Fielding, 2019). Thus, based on the criterion, the date published on the source must be indicated to know whether the information is current. Most recent sources can be considered credible because they contain information that is up to date. Resources can also be reviewed to check whether links to current research in the field are included. For instance, the information published in the journal article should contain a link to current research.

The intended audience for the resource is also critical in determining its reliability and credibility. For instance, sources meant for healthcare should be directed to healthcare professionals. When a source provides specific information about a given issue, it will back the information with scientific evidence that best meets the needs of the target audience (Fielding, 2019). As such, journal articles on nursing should be meant for health care professionals. For instance, journals on patient safety should be addressed to experts in healthcare. In situations where information is accessed by a person who is not a professional in the field, a disclaimer must instruct other users to seek healthcare professionals' advice on the issue being discussed.

Credibility and Relevance of Resources about Patient Safety

Patient safety is an evolving aspect of healthcare due to rapid changes in the sector, especially technological advancements. Thus, academic sources such as websites and journal articles on patient safety must be written by experts in patient safety. The resources should also contain evidence that justifies the information published in the sources (Hessels & Larson, 2016). The references may be periodical journal articles on patient safety. Nursing databases contain updated information on patient safety. The resources are published based on seminars that identify emerging issues in the field that need to be studied to add to the existing knowledge. Such journal articles contain evidence of possible safety concerns that might arise due to changes in healthcare services. For instance, the sources investigate possible errors in the acute care setting and analyze the potential safety issues that may arise.

Importance of Incorporating Credible Evidence into an EBP Model Used To Address Patient Safety

Patient safety concerns arise due to errors that occur in providing healthcare services to a patient. One of the practices in promoting patient safety is having a culture that outlines the steps that need to be considered to avoid errors when offering healthcare services (Lawati et al., 2018). The context of such mistakes is changing because of the shifts experienced in the provision of healthcare services. Therefore, to ensure the evidence-based model used in addressing patient safety is up to date, there is a need to review resources with credible evidence on the subject. Moreover, when all providers base their care on the latest evidence, variations are avoided leading to improved care and patient safety. Evidence-based practice allows nurses to apply scientifically proven evidence to deliver quality care to a given population. Thus, it promotes patient care practices applicable to a specific population and suitable for given conditions. Credible resources contain current information on the subject that might be part of the evidence-based model. Generally, the Evidence-based model is part of addressing patient safety because it promotes cooperation between different care.

Moreover, credible resources contain information such as the changes in the evidence-based model that need to be adopted for successful outcomes. The changes in medical procedures must be accompanied by new ways of ensuring the safety of patients. Credible evidence contains quality information that can address rising concerns about promoting a culture in hospital settings that supports patient safety (Melnyk et al., 2018). In evidence-based practices for enhancing safety, there is a need for collaboration between different health practitioners within and outside the health facility. The level of interaction between health professionals is changing owing to upcoming healthcare needs. As such, using credible evidence will help improve the hospital culture of patient safety.

Conclusion

In conclusion, evidence-based practices are crucial in achieving better outcomes when providing healthcare services. However, there is a need to combine evidence-based practices with credible evidence to learn about significant changes in healthcare settings. Various criteria can be used in deciding whether a resource is credible or not. One such standard is checking whether the author or the organization behind the information has professional training. Credible resources are those that are written by experts in the field because they can gather sufficient evidence.

References

Fielding, J. A. (2019). Rethinking CRAAP: Getting students thinking like fact-checkers in evaluating web sources. College & Research Libraries News, 80(11), 620. https://crln.acrl.org/index.php/crlnews/article/view/24195

Hessels, A. J., & Larson, E. L. (2016). Relationship between patient safety climate and standard precaution adherence: a systematic review of the literature. Journal of Hospital Infection, 92(4), 349-362. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195670115003485

Lawati, M. H. A., Dennis, S., Short, S. D., & Abdulhadi, N. N. (2018). Patient safety and safety culture in primary health care: a systematic review. BMC Family Practice, 19(1), 104. https://bmcfampract.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12875-018-0793-7

Melnyk, B. M., GallagherFord, L., Zellefrow, C., Tucker, S., Thomas, B., Sinnott, L. T., & Tan, A. (2018). The first US study on nurses' evidencebased practice competencies indicates major deficits that threaten healthcare quality, safety, and patient outcomes. Worldviews on EvidenceBased Nursing, 15(1), 16-25. https://sigmapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/wvn.12269