IPSee

A human factors approach to strengthening infection prevention and control.

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed gaps in many areas of healthcare, but one acutely felt has been the systemic shortcomings of infection prevention and control (IPC) training among healthcare workers. In collaboration with the CDC, we are developing the scientific foundation for Project Firstline, a sweeping initiative to transform IPC training for all 6 million+ US healthcare workers. Our Lab began by conducting standardized inpatient care simulations with registered nurses to understand the cognitive processes that underly successful and unsuccessful IPC practices and develop methodologies for assessing and training IPC competencies. Simulations included interactions with lifelike patient manikins and contamination tracking with viral surrogates, harmless bacteriophages that mimic pathogens. Based on findings from this activity, we developed IPSee, a virtual reality (VR) application for assessing and improving IPC practices among acute care nurses. The application includes four standardized simulations of inpatient care, two different simulation modes (assessment and training), a system for tracking and measuring cross-contamination, and a system for assessing and reporting IPC competency. The IPSee VR application can make IPC competency assessment and training more accessible to healthcare settings without dedicated simulation facilities.

Methods include:

• High-fidelity Simulation
• Bacteriophage Contamination Tracking 
• Failure Modes and Effects Analysis
• Usability Assessment