Ruth Carrico, PhD, RN and Scott LaJoie, PhD, MSPH, faculty in the Department of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences, co-authored the paper, “Changing health care worker behavior in relation to respiratory disease transmission with a novel training approach that uses biosimulation,” with Mary Beth Coty PhD RN, Assistant Professor in the University of Louisville School of Nursing and Linda Goss, RN, CIC, staff at the University of Louisville Hospital. Published in the February 2007 issue of the American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC), this article was recognized as a “top ten publication” in 2007 during the 18th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America held in Orlando on April 5-8, 2008. 

Congratulations to the authors for this distinguished honor. Their work was recognized for creativity, innovation and impact on the field in light of their approach to the safety and training needs of healthcare personnel. Click here to view the demonstration video that was developed by the Center for Health Hazards Preparedness for use in the pilot study that was the focus of the article. The authors found that supplementing the standard training methods with a visual demonstration can improve the use of personal protective equipment during care of patients exhibiting respiratory symptoms.