Factors influencing clinicians' perceptions of interruptions as disturbing or non-disturbing: A qualitative study

Emergency departments consist of multiple systems requiring interaction with one another while still being able to operate independently, creating frequent interruptions in the clinical workflow. Most research on interruptions in health care settings has focused on the relationship between interruptions and negative outcomes. However, there are indications that not all interruptions are negatively perceived by those being interrupted. Therefore, this study aimed to explore factors that influence when a clinician perceives interruptions as non-disturbing or disturbing in an emergency department context.

Explorative design based on interviews with 10 physicians and 10 registered nurses at two Swedish emergency departments. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis.

Factors influencing whether emergency department clinicians perceived interruptions as non-disturbing or disturbing were identified: clinician's constitution, external factors of influence and the nature of the interrupted task. The clinicians' perceptions were related to a complex of attributes inherent in these three factors at the time of the interruption. Thus, the same type of interruption could be perceived as either non-disturbing or disturbing contingent on the surrounding circumstances in which the event occurred.

Emergency department clinicians' perceptions of interruptions as non-disturbing or disturbing were related to the character of identified influencing factors.