Mobile ICT solution for nurses in care/nursing homes
Information
Author: Kooper, R.E.
Contributor: Freudenthal, A., Melles, M., Paus-Buzink, S.N.
Faculty: Industrial Design Engineering
Department: Design Engineering
Programme: Master of Science Design for Interaction
Type: Master thesis
Date: 11-1-2013
Keywords: ICT | Participatory design | Nurses | Nursing Homes | Digital
Abstract
Nurses who work in care and nursing homes have to work hard. They have to fit a lot of tasks within a relatively short period of time, which makes them experience a high workload. In addition, it can have a harmful effect on the clients if the nurses who take care of them are in a hurry. The aim of this thesis is to investigate how an ICT solution could support the nurses in their communication and planning of work, to help them do their work better. The design brief comes from software developer helpLine B.V., who wants to investigate the possibilities for extending their business from solutions for homecare to the field of intramural care.
First the work and work environment of nurses in care homes and nursing homes were investigated through interviews and observations in the field. Participants included nurses, managers and a planner. The research focused on the tools nurses use for communicating and organizing their work. Based on the findings from the research conclusions were drawn about how ICT could support the nurses in their work.
The main conclusion was that nurses should be helped to spend their time more efficiently. A lot of time goes wasted because they have to walk a lot in the generally big homes. Information is stored in different places in the home. The individual client’s records must be stored in the clients’ apartments, which makes the nurses have to walk all the way there if they need to look up a birth date or a telephone number. The first criterion for an ICT solution is therefore to bring all that information together in one (virtual) place for the nurse. The different media and tools that they have to use should be reduced, so they have to keep an eye on less different things. The second criterion is that the ICT solution should provide nurses with a clear overview on their tasks. It should facilitate the making of task divisions among nurses and it should enable nurses to manage their personal ‘unofficial’ tasks. The third criterion for the ICT solution is that it should facilitate and stimulate a good communication among nurses. This means that it should include contact information from clients and other relevant people and institutions and it should show reminders if the nurses forget to read a message. The fourth criterion is that the solution should be simple in use, it should have a clear layout and the features should be unambiguous in their function. In addition to these four criterions requirements were formulated for a number of features that the ICT solution should include.
Based on the discussed criteria a first design was generated. The design consisted of a web-based application with a number of features, i.a. a digital phonebook, the possibility to report about clients and the possibility to make ‘route lists’ (i.e. lists of tasks, based on the care needs from the clients). The design was iteratively evaluated by means of a mockup and improved on the basis of the results. First it was evaluated with two nurses from a nursing home, to assess each of the proposed functionalities on its usefulness and to determine how the features of the application should be structured. Based on the results the design was slightly altered. This process repeated two more times.
After these three iterations a final design was made, in which each of the features was worked out in more detail. Subsequently, an online prototype was made. This prototype was subjected to a series of evaluations: Two group sessions with nurses and an interview with a manager. The evaluations mostly yielded results about the validation of the design, i.e. the appropriateness of each of the identified design criteria.
The conclusion can be drawn that the main requirement and the four criteria as described above were well-chosen: Participants confirmed that they spend a lot of time walking because they have to search for information. They were pleased with a concept that presents all their information and tools in one place. An important conclusion for helpLine B.V. is that the concept is probably most successful when the application can link with other applications, e.g. with the program for staff scheduling and the HRM system. The strength of the design will be in bringing all the information from the different work aspects together, to present it to the users in a uniform and usable way.
