Enacting high reliability principles while caring for people with Ebola Virus Disease

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Infectious Disease Control
• Patient Safety

Background:

• Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) poses significant infectious risks.
• Healthcare professionals faced fear when treating EVD patients at Emory University Hospital (EUH).

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze how EUH's Serious Communicable Diseases Unit (SCDU) members applied high reliability (HR) principles during EVD patient care.
• To understand the practical implementation of HR in a high-risk healthcare setting.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative study involving 17 semi-structured interviews with EUH SCDU staff (nurses, physicians, lab technicians).
• Conventional content analysis of transcribed interviews to identify themes related to HR principles.
• Exploration of staff experiences working with EVD patients in 2014.

Main Results:

• The SCDU team's objective was to save patients while ensuring staff safety.
• Rigorous training and high standards were prerequisites for team readiness.
• Fear of EVD triggered the application of HR principles, preventing infection control failures.

Conclusions:

• High reliability (HR) principles can be effectively translated from theory to practice in high-risk healthcare scenarios.
• HR principles were fundamental for maintaining safety and robust infection prevention and control measures.