A human factors approach to subcutaneous insulin chart design improves user-performance: An experimental study

Area of Science:

• Health Sciences
• Human Factors Engineering
• Patient Safety

Background:

• Insulin is a high-risk medication frequently involved in serious adverse events and medication errors in hospitalized patients.
• Wrong dose errors are the most common type of insulin administration error, contributing to patient harm.

Purpose of the Study:

• To empirically assess the impact of a human factors-designed subcutaneous insulin chart (NSIC) on user performance in determining insulin doses.
• To compare the NSIC's effectiveness against a pre-existing chart in reducing errors and improving efficiency.

Main Methods:

• A lab-based study involving 41 experienced and 48 novice nurses.
• Participants completed 60 experimental trials, determining insulin doses using either the NSIC or a pre-existing chart.

Main Results:

• Both experienced and novice nurses determined insulin doses significantly faster when using the NSIC.
• Fewer dose errors were made by participants using the NSIC compared to the pre-existing chart.

Conclusions:

• The human factors design principles employed in the NSIC effectively translate into improved user performance.
• The NSIC demonstrates utility in reducing insulin dosing errors and enhancing administration efficiency, thereby improving patient safety.