State the Healthcare Issue/Topic & Problem
The COVID-19 pandemic made researchers and healthcare practitioners pay attention to the problem of guaranteeing adequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) supply in hospitals. The lack of PPE in facilities directly affects the quality of care for patients and the safety of healthcare providers.
Explain the Methods/Procedures/Approaches
It is necessary to start researching the problem from the analytical perspective, discussing why current supply chains cannot address the needs of healthcare professionals for PPE. One should focus on the scientific perspective and determine the ways of solving the issue of the PPE shortage with reference to discussing the alternative sources of PPE. The ethical perspective is related to stating how the lack of PPE can affect the quality of provided services (Kamerow, 2020). The cultural perspective is grounded in determining how healthcare professionals’ cultures and views can influence their usage of PPE.
Reveal Your Results and Findings (Understandings from Inquiry Papers)
From the analytical perspective, existing supply chains cannot address the needs for PPE because of the presence of many actors in chains and outsourcing the production of PPE. From the scientific perspective, the solutions to the issue include the focus on alternative sources of PPE and changes in using it. The lack of PPE directly affects the quality of care, influencing patients negatively. From the cultural perspective, the lack of PPE combined with professionals’ ineffective usage of it can contribute to creating risks for patients.
Disclose/Expose Your Concluding Solution
Much attention should be paid to addressing the shortage of PPE in hospitals and its inadequate usage through improving supply chains and educating the staff on PPE utilization.
Reference
Kamerow, D. (2020). Covid-19: The crisis of personal protective equipment in the US. BMJ, 369, 1-9.