Healthcare Associated Infections (HAIs) affect 1 in 31 patients in acute healthcare settings daily, result in almost 100,000 deaths annually, and incur $28.4 billion in direct medical costs. Up to 75% of these infections are preventable through implementation of infection prevention practices. In this talk, Dr. Shenoy and colleagues review why infection control training needs an infusion of innovative approaches, and how her multidisciplinary team developed two Virtual Reality training modules focused on key practices that all healthcare personnel need to understand to prevent HAIs. The team will discuss their design approach, and how they have incorporated gamification and visualization of invisible contamination to enhance the learner’s experience. They will also present preliminary findings from pilot-testing these modules in diverse US healthcare settings, including pre- and post-testing of knowledge and attitudes of learners, and in-headset competency assessments.
Speakers
Erica S. Shenoy, MD, PhD
Chief of Infection Control, Mass General Brigham, Principal Investigator
Chief of Infection Control, Mass General Brigham, Principal Investigator
Dr. Shenoy is Chief of Infection Control for Mass General Brigham healthcare system. In this role, she is responsible for the development and implementation of infection control strategies, policies, and measurement across the Mass General Brigham system. She is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and an Infectious Diseases physician at Massachusetts General Hospital, where she cares for patients on the inpatient Infectious Diseases Consult Service. Dr. Shenoy is Medical Director of the Regional Emerging Special Pathogens Treatment Center at MGH, one of thirteen federally funded centers with expertise in preparedness and response for emerging pathogens. She is also the Clinical Lead for Infection Control for Mass General Brigham Digital Health.Dr. Shenoy is a fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA). She is currently Chair of SHEA’s Public Policy and Government Affairs Committee and co-chair of the Sterilization and High-Level Disinfection guidelines committee.
Michelle Jerry, BS
Clinical Research Coordinator, Massachusetts General Hospital
Clinical Research Coordinator, Massachusetts General Hospital
Michelle S. Jerry graduated from Tufts University with a bachelor's degree in biology. She is interested in the social determinants that make healthcare inaccessible and the impact of technology on advancing access and outcomes. Her previous research focused on HIV/AIDS and substance use in adolescents. Michelle has worked over the last two years to develop the process for piloting virtual reality training and collecting data from users on their experiences and is a lead author on a recent ICHE publication about this work.
Vianelly García, MPH
Clinical Research Coordinator, Massachusetts General Hospital
Clinical Research Coordinator, Massachusetts General Hospital
Vianelly García graduated from Boston University School of Public Health with a Master of Public Health degree with a concentration on designing, implementing, and evaluating community health programs. She has previously worked at a community health center serving patients from diverse ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. Furthermore, she was previously part of the mass vaccination efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic as a vaccination specialist. Vianelly has spent the last year leading a working group to design and begin building this team’s latest VR module on injection safety and as a result is now well versed in Unity.
Andrea Greenfield, MSN, RN-BC, CIC
Infection Preventionist, Massachusetts General Hospital
Infection Preventionist, Massachusetts General Hospital
Andrea S. Greenfield is an Infection Preventionist at MGH where most of her day-to-day focuses on IC activities for several inpatient and procedural units as well as policy and committee work. Over the last 2 years she has collaborated with the MGH project team to bring IC education to life in a series of virtual reality training modules. Prior to joining the infection prevention team, Andrea spent many years in nursing where she discovered her passion for advocacy, safe patient care, and infection prevention. She has an undergraduate degree in Biology from Brandeis University and holds a master’s degree in nursing from the MGH Institute of Health Professions.
Moderators
Veronica Weser, PhD
Research Scientist, Associate Director of XR Pediatrics Lab, Yale School of Medicine
Research Scientist, Associate Director of XR Pediatrics Lab, Yale School of Medicine
Veronica Weser, PhD is the Associate Director of XR Pediatrics, part of the Yale Center for Immersive Technologies in Pediatrics, and a Research Scientist at the Yale School of Medicine. Dr. Weser is part of an interdisciplinary team of researchers, educators, healthcare professionals, and videogame designers who collaborate to develop and evaluate theory and evidence-informed videogame health promotion interventions utilizing virtual reality and spatial computing technology. Dr. Weser earned her PhD in Cognitive Psychology from the University of Virginia where her focus was the use of extended reality technology to understand human perception. Her work leverages a deep foundation in basic science to create immersive translational research-based interventions that benefit pediatric populations.
