Professor Yager has been invited to International 2009 Design Conference in Berlin, Germany to speak about by research with JHMI. Working with the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions (JHMI), the IDL team and Professor Yager are constructing solutions to address the complex challenges in pediatric medicine and the “Hospital of the Future”. With both his graduate and undergraduate students, Professor Yager is examining the use of hand washing techniques within the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center to help mitigate the passing of germs from healthcare providers and families to patients. Professor Yager has developed data capture technology as well as software to measure the intensity of hand washing in the hospital environment. By measuring hand washing in a systematic way, it will allow faculty and staff, for the first time at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, to gather accurate information regarding the use of proper hand washing procedures. The resulting data will allow for the formulation of new ideas about hand washing and the spread of infection, training, procedures and eventually develop new and more effective public health protocols. During the testing and data gathering phases, Professor Yager will also develop new iconographic symbols to stimulate and change the health behavior of all hospital personnel to use hand washing machines before and after they are exposed to any patient in the hospital. The IDL team in collaboration with JHMI will also be developing protocols that determine the optimal location of these hand washing machines within the hospital and outpatient settings.

Having just received funding for a proposal to continue research at JHMI, the IDL team and JHMI are improving the public health and safety of the Children’s Center medical care. This project has international and groundbreaking potential to improve care at the hospital and in medical practice. Bringing the design process into the healthcare setting can positively influence not only the individual patient experience, but also the overall quality of medical care.