The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted how healthcare settings could contribute to the spread of infections, harming patients and healthcare personnel. More than 1.7 million healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) occur in the U.S. each year, resulting in more than 99,000 annual deaths. As a result, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched Project Firstline, a transformational initiative for infection prevention and control (IPC) training and education for millions of frontline healthcare workers in the U.S.
The CDC’s mission is to provide innovative and accessible IPC training for frontline healthcare workers. Emory University’s Healthcare Human Factors Lab (HHFL), Relias, and Inception X.R. are partnering to support Project Firstline. The goal is to improve clinical outcomes by embedding key elements of IPC protocols for a wide range of healthcare professionals in a compelling, multi-sensory immersive experience to significantly reduce the burden on patients, communities, and caregivers caused by healthcare-associated infections.
IPC is essential to ensure safe healthcare, and the key is to follow best practices consistently and confidently by caregivers. Inception X.R.’s technology platform will accelerate nurses’ acquisition of knowledge and increase daily application in a clinical setting while reducing training costs and enhancing the ease of deployment.
“This is a highly strategic project for us, leveraging insights into IPC practices we have gained as a Project Firstline partner, market access, and cutting-edge technology to ultimately support infection prevention in any medical setting,” says Joel Mumma, Ph.D., Research Director of the HHFL.
With this joint project, the companies can validate the value of their technology in the healthcare industry and generate an evidence base for future expansion in this field while developing additional content and products that support better care.
This is the first milestone in a comprehensive and scalable healthcare personnel immersive learning model in collaboration with respected partners such as Emory University’s HHFL.
The HHFL has conducted standardized inpatient care simulations with nurses to understand the cognitive processes that underlie successful and unsuccessful IPC practices and to develop methodologies for assessing and training IPC competencies. Acknowledging the need for an innovative, advanced immersive learning solution, HHFL will support InceptionXR technology implementation, addressing one of the most complicated healthcare problems in the U.S.
InceptionXR has also partnered with Relias, the trusted education, and development partner to more than 11,000 healthcare organizations worldwide.
“We are delighted to support advanced technology initiatives into healthcare and education training, as part of our mission statement, especially in infection control, where they can make a dramatic difference in both outcomes and healthcare teams’ best practices,” said Lora Sparkman, RN, BSN, MHA, Patient Safety and Quality Executive, at Relias.
Phase I of the year-long project launched in October 2022, during which the infection assessment simulation will be evaluated by the HHFL and piloted in five additional U.S. healthcare systems. Following the successful completion of Phase I, Emory aims to support the distribution of the IPC assessment simulation to hospitals across the U.S.
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