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The Hawthorne Effect in Infection Prevention and Epidemiology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2015

Luke F. Chen ,
Mark W. Vander Weg ,
David A. Hofmann  and
Heather Schacht Reisinger
Luke F. Chen*
Affiliation:
Program for Infection Prevention and Epidemiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina Duke Infection Control Outreach Network, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina Duke University CDC Preventions Epicenter Program, Durham, North Carolina
Mark W. Vander Weg
Affiliation:
Center for Comprehensive Access and Delivery Research and Evaluation, Iowa City Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Iowa City, Iowa Department of Internal Medicine, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa Department of Psychology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
David A. Hofmann
Affiliation:
Department of Organizational Behavior and Strategy, Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Heather Schacht Reisinger
Affiliation:
Center for Comprehensive Access and Delivery Research and Evaluation, Iowa City Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Iowa City, Iowa Department of Internal Medicine, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa US Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for Occupational Health and Infection Control (COHIC), Gainesville, Florida
*
Address correspondence to Luke F. Chen, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina ([email protected]).
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Abstract

The Hawthorne Effect is a prevalent observer effect that causes behavioral changes among participants of epidemiological studies or infection control interventions. The purpose of the review is to describe the origins of the Hawthorne Effect, to understand the term in relation to current scientific literature, to describe characteristics of the Hawthorne effect, and to discuss methods to quantify and overcome limitations associated with the Hawthorne Effect.

Infect. Control Hosp. Epidemiol. 2015;36(12):1444–1450

Type
Review Article
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 36 , Issue 12 , December 2015 , pp. 1444 - 1450
Copyright
© 2015 by The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. All rights reserved 

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