What are important topics for a 6-month minor project at a hospital?

Three High-Impact Hospital Project Topics for 6-Month Implementation

For a 6-month hospital-based project, focus on health needs assessment to identify local gaps, implementation of team-based chronic disease management protocols, or reduction of healthcare-acquired infections—all of which directly impact morbidity, mortality, and quality of life while being feasible within your timeframe.

Topic 1: Local Health Needs Assessment with Implementation Plan

Conduct a structured health needs assessment focusing on high-frequency, high-impact conditions in your hospital population, followed by actionable recommendations. 1

Why This Matters:

• Health needs assessment provides a systematic method to identify unmet needs and prioritize interventions based on frequency, severity, and evidence of effectiveness 1
• This approach moves beyond reactive care to proactive population health management 1
• Assessments should be prompted by the importance of health problems in terms of frequency, impact, or cost 1

Implementation Framework:

• Month 1-2: Describe patterns of disease in your local population and compare with regional/national patterns 1
• Month 3-4: Identify areas of unmet need through both quantitative data (hospital records, admission patterns) and qualitative methods (patient/staff interviews) 1
• Month 5-6: Develop clear objectives with stakeholder involvement (hospital staff, primary care teams, patients) and create an implementation plan with prioritized needs 1

Key Success Factors:

• Start with a simple, well-defined health topic to ensure success within 6 months 1
• Integrate results with planning intentions to ensure actual change, not just an academic exercise 1
• Share work among team members to build collaboration and manage time constraints 1

Topic 2: Team-Based Chronic Disease Management Implementation (Focus on Diabetes)

Implement a structured team-based care model for chronic disease management, specifically targeting diabetes care through the Chronic Care Model framework. 1, 2

Why This Matters:

• The Chronic Care Model reduces cardiovascular disease risk by 56.6%, microvascular complications by 11.9%, and mortality by 66.1% 1, 2
• This model generates healthcare savings of $7,294 per patient over time 1
• Addresses health inequities and social determinants that heavily influence diabetes outcomes 1

Six Core Elements to Implement:

• Delivery system design: Transform reactive to proactive care with planned, team-coordinated visits 1, 2
• Self-management support: Establish diabetes self-management education programs for all patients 2
• Decision support: Implement evidence-based care guidelines and avoid therapeutic inertia 1, 2
• Clinical information systems: Create patient registries for population-based tracking 1
• Community resources: Identify local resources for healthy lifestyles and refer patients appropriately 1
• Health systems culture: Foster quality-oriented care delivery 1

Practical Steps:

• Assemble integrated team including physicians, nurses, dietitians, pharmacists, and mental health professionals 2
• Assess social context including food insecurity, housing stability, and financial barriers, applying this to treatment decisions 1
• Provide access to lay health coaches or community health workers when available 1
• Prioritize timely intensification of therapy when metabolic targets aren't met 2

Topic 3: Healthcare-Acquired Infection Prevention Protocol

Develop and implement standardized infection prevention protocols targeting the most common hospital-acquired infections with measurable outcomes. 3, 4, 5

Why This Matters:

• Healthcare-acquired infections cause increased hospital stays, poor health outcomes, and preventable deaths 3
• Evidence-based oral care protocols reduced non-ventilator hospital-acquired pneumonia from 2.84 to 1.41 per 1,000 discharges and decreased deaths from 20 to 4 cases 4
• Elderly patients are particularly vulnerable and LTCFs have become "reservoirs of resistance" for multi-drug resistant pathogens 6

Priority Infection Targets:

• Hospital-acquired pneumonia: Implement nurse-driven oral care protocols for all adult patients (ventilated, at-risk, and short-term care) 4
• Catheter-associated urinary tract infections: Establish nurse-driven evaluation of catheter need (currently only 77.5% of hospitals have this) 5
• Central line-associated bloodstream infections: Implement team evaluation for central venous catheter need on ICU transfer (only 36.6% of hospitals currently do this) 5

Implementation Strategy:

• Month 1-2: Evaluate current infection prevention policies and identify gaps in healthcare worker practice and competency evaluation 5
• Month 3-4: Implement standardized, evidence-based protocols with appropriate supplies and training 4, 5
• Month 5-6: Monitor adherence through documentation audits and supply use reports; measure infection rates using ICD codes for infections not present on admission 4

Critical Success Factors:

• Establish annual competency assessments for nursing staff on device placement and maintenance 5
• Provide daily assessment protocols for device need (urinary catheters, central lines, ventilator support) 5
• Track both process measures (protocol adherence) and outcome measures (infection rates, mortality) 4

Common Pitfalls to Avoid:

• Don't conduct needs assessments without sufficient attention to implementation—they become academic exercises without real change 1
• Avoid projects that lack time, resources, or team commitment; share work among professionals to build team cohesion 1
• Don't fail to involve relevant stakeholders (patients, staff, administration) from the beginning 1
• Ensure clear objectives are defined and criteria are used to prioritize needs based on frequency, severity, and feasibility for change 1