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Design and Test of a Graphic Medication Dosage Calculator in Paramedic Practice With Children

Avi Parush1, Nitzan Haim2, Eli Jaffe3

  • 1From the Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Management, Israel Institute of Technology, Technion City, Haifa.

Pediatric Emergency Care
|November 2, 2020
PubMed

Insights

A new graphic dosage calculator significantly improves pediatric medication calculations for paramedics, reducing errors and enhancing efficiency in emergency care. This technology offers a preferred and more effective alternative to traditional methods.

Area of Science:

  • Emergency Medicine
  • Pediatric Care
  • Health Informatics

Background:

  • Pediatric patients face higher medication error risks in prehospital settings due to limited paramedic experience.
  • Cognitive aids, particularly technological solutions, can enhance medication dosage calculation accuracy.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To design and evaluate a graphic dosage calculator for pediatric medication calculations in prehospital emergency care.

Main Methods:

  • Iterative user-centered design process for calculator development.
  • Empirical testing with 14 novice and 16 experienced paramedics.
  • Comparison of graphic calculator against a standard pocket handbook using pediatric medication scenarios.

Main Results:

  • The graphic calculator significantly reduced scenario completion time compared to the handbook.
  • Paramedics reported high confidence and a strong preference for the graphic calculator.
  • The calculator surpassed standard usability benchmarks.

Conclusions:

  • The graphic calculator is a usable, effective, efficient, and preferred tool for pediatric prehospital medication calculation.
  • Such technologies can mitigate medication errors in rare cases and combat skill decay.
Abstract

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