Film Festival Uses Humor and Education to Promote Infection Prevention

A video created for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality(AHRQ) highlighting the key benefits of engaging patients in
hemodialysis infection prevention activities is the winner of the fifth annual Film Festival at the 42nd Annual Conference of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC).

The winning video, created for AHRQ by the Health Research & Educational Trust and titled, “Patient Engagement in Infection Prevention,” explores the advantages of involving patients in infection prevention. The video highlights numerous steps that clinicians can take to involve patients and protect them from infectionduring hemodialysis.

- Other submissions to the Film Festival looked at various infection prevention practices. For example, one took a humorous look at the importance of hand hygienewith a reality-style show called Mr. Bachelor Sparkledigits, where contestants Wendy Wet-Yur-Hands, Lucy Lather, Sally Scrub, Rhonda Rinse, and Delores Dry-Em-Good teach viewers  about good hand hygiene practices.

- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s One & Only Campaign created a new video urging\healthcare providers to recognize the differences between single-dose and multi-dose vialsto prevent the spread of infection.

- A submission from Stanford HealthCare featured an original song “I Will Wash for You,” teaching the importance of hand hygiene to a catchy tune. 

“The Film Festival is a fun way to teach healthcare providers and the public about important aspects of infection prevention,” says APIC 2015 Annual Conference chair Sally M. Hess, CIC, MPH, manager of infection prevention at the University of Vermont Medical Center. “Each year I am inspired by the creativity and thoughtfulness put into these films. This year’s winner focused on ways to include patients in efforts to prevent the spread of infection, which is of the utmost importance.”

APIC Annual Conference attendees will have the chance to view all of the video submissionsand vote for theAPIC 2015 Film Festival People’s Choice Awards winner, to be announced at the closing plenary session on June 29.

Source: APIC