Interruptions experienced by cardiovascular intensive care unit nurses: an observational study

Area of Science:

• Nursing Research
• Human Factors Engineering
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Intensive care unit (ICU) nurses face frequent interruptions, potentially impacting cognitive resources and task performance.
• Interruptions may convey critical information essential for patient care in high-acuity settings.
• Effective interruption management necessitates understanding interruption characteristics, context, and content.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the characteristics and content of interruptions experienced by ICU nurses.
• To investigate the relationship between task severity and the nature of interruptions.
• To inform strategies for optimizing interruption management in ICUs.

Main Methods:

• An observational study was conducted in a Canadian cardiovascular ICU.
• Four trained observers recorded interruptions experienced by 40 nurses over a 3-week period.
• Data were collected in real-time using tablet PCs and specialized software.

Main Results:

• Approximately 51% of interruptions occurred during high-severity tasks.
• Over half of interruptions during high-severity tasks provided work- or patient-related information.
• Personal interruptions were significantly more frequent during low-severity tasks compared to medium- and high-severity tasks.

Conclusions:

• Blocking all interruptions may not be the optimal strategy.
• Interrupters may assess primary task severity, suggesting transparency could improve interruption timing.
• Further research into nuanced interruption management strategies is warranted.