A systematic review of the psychological literature on interruption and its patient safety implications

Document Type

Journal article

Source Publication

Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association

Publication Date

1-1-2012

Volume

19

Issue

1

First Page

6

Last Page

12

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Keywords

Human error, interruption, human computer interaction, cognitive psychology, usability, patient safety, incident reporting, communication, decision support, safety

Abstract

Objective: To understand the complex effects of interruption in healthcare. Materials and methods: As interruptions have been well studied in other domains, the authors undertook a systematic review of experimental studies in psychology and human–computer interaction to identify the task types and variables influencing interruption effects. Results: 63 studies were identified from 812 articles retrieved by systematic searches. On the basis of interruption profiles for generic tasks, it was found that clinical tasks can be distinguished into three broad types: procedural, problem-solving, and decision-making. Twelve experimental variables that influence interruption effects were identified. Of these, six are the most important, based on the number of studies and because of their centrality to interruption effects, including working memory load, interruption position, similarity, modality, handling strategies, and practice effect. The variables are explained by three main theoretical frameworks: the activation-based goal memory model, prospective memory, and multiple resource theory. Discussion: This review provides a useful starting point for a more comprehensive examination of interruptions potentially leading to an improved understanding about the impact of this phenomenon on patient safety and task efficiency. The authors provide some recommendations to counter interruption effects. Conclusion: The effects of interruption are the outcome of a complex set of variables and should not be considered as uniformly predictable or bad. The task types, variables, and theories should help us better to identify which clinical tasks and contexts are most susceptible and assist in the design of information systems and processes that are resilient to interruption.

DOI

10.1136/amiajnl-2010-000024

Print ISSN

10675027

E-ISSN

1527974X

Funding Information

This research is supported in part by grants DP0772487 and LP0775532 from the Australian Research Council and by NHMRC Program Grant 568612.

Publisher Statement

Copyright © 2012 Oxford University Press

Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.

Full-text Version

Publisher’s Version

Language

English

Recommended Citation

Li, Y. W. S., Magrabi, F., & Coiera, E. (2012). A systematic review of the psychological literature on interruption and its patient safety implications. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 19(1), 6-12. doi: 10.1136/amiajnl-2010-000024

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