Session: Moving Beyond Quantitative Epidemiology: Mixed Methods and Driving Organizational Change (21st Annual Scientific Meeting of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (April 1-4, 2011))

Friday, April 1, 2011: 12:00 PM-4:00 PM

Cortez AB (Hilton Anatole)

CME Credits: 3.50

Registration Code: W1

Type: Workshops

Summary: Important epidemiological discoveries often began with initial qualitative research. Over the past decades, the rise of widely-available powerful microcomputers has shifted the balance towards quantitative methods and away from qualitative research. This has left a void in our understanding of qualitative study methods, which hinders our ability to implement and assess HAI reduction interventions in our hospitals. This session with review research methods for hospital epidemiologists and infection preventionists wanting to driving organizational change at their institutions. Information about specific study methods and their application to infection prevention research will be presented using specific examples.

Learning Objectives:

Describe at an introductory level available qualitative methods that would be applicable to assessing individual or organizational factors associated with effectiveness of HAI reduction interventions
Review examples of a qualitative studies that are applicable to infection prevention interventions
Describe how qualitative investigations can improve implementation of infection prevention interventions

12:00 PM

Ronda Sinkowitz-Cochran, MPH, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

12:15 PM

Heather Schacht Reisinger, PhD, Iowa City Veteran Affairs Medical Center and Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa

12:30 PM

Ronald E. Taylor, PhD, University of Tennessee

12:45 PM

Deborah M. Treise, PhD, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications

2 Moving Beyond Quantitative Epidemiology: Mixed Methods and Driving Organizational Change