Improving compliance with isolation measures in the operating room: a prospective simulation study comparing the effectiveness and costs of simulation-based training vs video-based training

Background: Different isolation measures are required according to the routes of transmission of pathogens. Few studies have compared different forms of hygiene training in terms of efficiency and/or improvement of perception towards hygiene measures. This study aimed to evaluate the benefits of different forms of isolation training in the operating room, and their respective effects on the perception of hygiene measures by comparing simulation training with video-based training.Methods: This multi-centre, prospective, randomized, controlled trial compared hygiene knowledge, psychological safety and perception of training among healthcare workers after in-centre simulation training and conventional video-based training.Results: Neither type of training led to a significant improvement in knowledge or perceived psychological safety (F=0.235, P=0.629, h2=0.003). Participants in the simulation group reported higher levels of willingness to speak up in the depicted scenario compared with participants who received video-based training. Participants perceived the simulation-based training significantly more positively than the video-based training.Conclusion: Clear definition of the goals of training based on the pre-existing level of knowledge of the participants is crucial. For future studies, it would be interesting to investigate the long-term effect and continuing benefits concerning the implementation of hygiene regulations after different types of training.(c) 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The Healthcare Infection Society. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).