title: The effectiveness of an evidence-based nursing care program to reduce ventilator-associated pneumonia in a Korean ICU.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This 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.
  
  
  METHODS
  The 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.
  
  
  RESULTS
  That 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).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  An intervention VAP prevention program promoted ICU nurses' VAP prevention awareness and performance and could therefore help decrease the VAP rate.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Shinsung University, 49, Duckmari, Jungmimyun, Dangjingun, Chungnam 343-861, Republic of Korea. kmoban@naver.com
authors.forename: Keum Ok
authors.initials: KO
authors.lastname: Ban
mesh_terms: D055318:Evidence-Based Nursing; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D053717:Pneumonia, Ventilator-Associated / Q000451:nursing / Q000517:prevention & control*; D056910:Republic of Korea