What Drives Bad Behavior in Infection Prevention? Let’s Talk Psychology!

Session Description: As infection preventionists and epidemiologists, we often deal with challenging situations that require a bit of psychological maneuvering. We become amateur psychologists and social scientists while asking ourselves why people make certain choices. Whether it’s dealing with low compliance to a new intervention, a patient that refuses a preventative treatment, an outbreak on a unit, or a visitor disregarding isolation precautions— human behavior is a major contributing factor. Human behavior is a key component of infectious disease transmission, and understanding behavior and social dynamics can help with prevention efforts. This session will examine the psychology and social aspects of human decision-making, noncompliance, disease transmission, and healthcare associated infections (HAIs). We will review some of the behavioral science modeling used to predict how human behavior influences infectious disease transmission and spread. We will also discuss some of the social dynamics and determinants that drive transmission and HAIs including income, discrimination, education, housing, social support systems, and access to healthcare. Finally, we will explore evidenced-based educational tools, modeling practicality, and behavioral modification approaches helpful for infection preventionists and epidemiologists when managing the psychological aspects of infection prevention.