Accessibility and Feasibility of Bluetooth Communication System and Smart Devices to Measure Nursing Activity

Area of Science:

• Nursing informatics
• Wearable technology in healthcare
• Occupational health and safety

Background:

• High nurse workload contributes to attrition from clinical practice.
• Traditional workload estimation relies on self-reports, which can be inaccurate.
• Accurate measurement of nursing hours is crucial for understanding workload.

Purpose of the Study:

• To measure nursing activities and physiological indicators using real-time data from beacons, smartwatches, and smartphones.
• To assess nursing workload in a medical unit through objective data collection.
• To explore correlations between physical activity and nursing workload metrics.

Main Methods:

• Descriptive, cross-sectional design utilizing data from the SMART-NURSE project.
• Collection of biometric and location data via smartwatches and Bluetooth beacons.
• Integration of data using synchronized timestamps and statistical analysis (Kruskal-Wallis, Spearman's correlation).

Main Results:

• Nursing hours varied significantly by shift (night > day > evening).
• Average energy expenditure was 906.21 kcal; average heart rate was 92.55 bpm.
• Average steps were 7343.65, correlating positively with direct nursing and negatively with stress.

Conclusions:

• The developed method accurately measured actual nursing hours without loss.
• Physical activity data provides a foundation for measuring nurses' workload and burden.
• Wearable technology offers a viable solution for objective workload assessment in nursing.