Background: Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) are common, morbid, and costly. Nearly
25% of hospitalized patients are catheterized yearly, and 10% develop urinary tract infections. Evidencebased
guidelines exist for indwelling urinary catheter management but are not consistently followed.
Methods: A pre/post intervention design was used in this quality improvement project to test the impact
of nurse-driven interventions based on current evidence to reduce CAUTIs in hospitalized patients on 2
medical/surgical units. Interventions consisted of hospital-wide strategies including policy and product
improvements and unit-specific strategies that focused on a review of current evidence to guide practice.