The effectiveness of an evidence-based nursing care program to reduce ventilator-associated pneumonia in a Korean ICU

SummaryObjectivesThis study has analysed VAP prevention strategies and concentrating on approaches proven to have been effective by previous studies, has developed a general and systematic intervention for preventing VAP.MethodThe VAP prevention program was composed of short-term interventions and long-term interventions. Using a time series design to verify the program's effectiveness, just before, just after, and 3 months after intervention, 27 convenient selected medical ICU nurses were surveyed for their awareness of VAP prevention and self-evaluation of VAP prevention performance as a subjective measure, and their VAP prevention performance was observed as an objective measure. The VAP incidence amongst ICU patients was measured during the 3 months before (n = 80) and after (n = 75) intervention.ResultsThat the program would raise nurses’ VAP prevention awareness (p = .008) and would increase the nurses’ subjective (p = .003) and objective (p ≤ .001) VAP prevention performance evaluations was supported. That incidences of VAP would decrease from a pre-intervention VAP rate of 17.382 (number of occurances/1000 ventilator days) to a post-intervention rate of 11.044, was not statistically significant (p = .074).ConclusionAn intervention VAP prevention program promoted ICU nurses’ VAP prevention awareness and performance and could therefore help decrease the VAP rate.