Design of a Wearable Stress Monitoring Tool for Intensive Care Unit Nursing: Functional Information Requirements Analysis

Nurses are the last line of defense to reduce preventable medical errors; however, they suffer from poor systems design and human factors issues (e.g., long shifts, dynamic workload, stressful situations, and fatigue), contributing to a reduced quality of care. A smart nursing system based on physiological monitoring is being designed to help nurses and their managers to efficiently communicate, reduce interruptions that affect critical task performance, and monitor acute stress and fatigue levels. This paper documents the systematic process of deriving information requirements through a group-participatory usability study, conducted with nurses working in various Southeastern Texas hospitals. Information requirements derived from these studies include: a need for accessing patients’ vital signs as well as laboratory results, memory aid tools for various critical nursing tasks, and options to call for help and to reduce interruptions for critical tasks. The system shows promise to meet these requirements.