JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

The call light technology continues to develop and improve its functionality, however, there is a gap between what nursing homes staff needs and how the call light is designed. The study finds that the available call light systems are unsatisfactory in addressing nursing homes staff needs. These concerns stem from gaps caused by a lack of user feedback in the design and acquisition process.

Objective:

A framework was developed to investigate nursing home staff experiences in using call light technology to determine its effect on elements in the work system. The main goal of this framework is to analyze and understand the effects of call light technology on the work system elements, and to obtain the perceptions of staff (user) and uncover the challenges they face while using the system.

Methods:

An observational study with over 100 hours of direct observations was conducted at 4 different nursing homes in Upstate New York. Using the insights from the observational study, a survey instrument was designed to quantify the measures in the framework. The survey was developed for testing and evaluation the effectiveness of a call light system in two local nursing homes as an application of the framework, and to study the effect of the call light systems on other elements in the work system, on processes, and on outcomes.

Results:

The research results showed a significant correlation between the type of call light system used and the perceived task-level workload and job-level workload. More than 74% of the staff think that the call light system is disruptive in the environment and source for constant noise making, and the type of system significantly contributes to the noise level in the unit. More than 76% of the staff thinks it is difficult to locate call lights due to the unit layout, and more than 64% of the staff thinks that residents do not use it for urgent needs.

Conclusions:

It was found that the usability challenges in the use of the call light system often impeded the performance of nursing home staff in responding to residents. Further, the study found that the type of call light system used affected task and unit-level workload, and the perceptions of staff about the easiness of being notified and locate alarms, the noise level is differing with shift and unit type. The insights from the results of this study could be used in the selection of a new call light system to avoid usability issues and challenges that were identified by the staff. This will not only improve their workload, but also their perceptions about the- system and the quality of their shifts and overall satisfaction.