Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Nov 12, 2024
Date Accepted: Mar 10, 2025
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Technology integration to support nurses in an “inpatient room of the future”: Qualitative Analysis
ABSTRACT
Background:
The design and integration of technology within inpatient hospital rooms play a critical role in supporting nursing workflows, enhancing clinician experience, and improving patient care. As healthcare technology evolves, there is a need to envision and create technology-integrated clinical environments that enhance clinical workflows. Understanding how technology currently supports or hinders nursing workflows is a key step toward developing these clinical spaces.
Objective:
To assess the current challenges faced by nursing staff in inpatient rooms, and gather insights on design improvements that integrate technology to support nursing workflows and interactions within the built environment.
Methods:
A qualitative study was conducted involving semi-structured interviews, shadowing, and focus groups among nursing staff (RNs) in the inpatient setting. These methods facilitated a comprehensive qualitative analysis of current technology use and needs in inpatient nursing workflows, to inform exploratory design considerations for a technology-integrated “Inpatient Room of the Future”.
Results:
Twenty-six nursing staff across 4 inpatient hospital units participated in this study. Analysis identified four major themes considered central to designing a technology-integrated inpatient room that enhances nursing workflow and experience: 1) The need for seamless integration of technologies, advocating for a unified system that minimizes fragmented technology use and enhances efficiency; 2) The potential for technology to reduce cognitive load, alleviate mental strain, and streamline complex workflows; 3) A focus on enhancing interpersonal communication, with specific emphasis on tools that facilitate clear and efficient communication among clinicians and with patients; and 4) The importance of improved staff wellbeing, with design considerations aimed at promoting both physical and mental health for healthcare workers in the inpatient setting.
Conclusions:
To improve nursing efficiency and patient care quality, future inpatient room designs will benefit from a human-centered approach focusing on seamless technology integration that aligns with clinical workflows. Input from clinical end-users and, where possible, co-design strategies with both clinical and technical stakeholder should guide the development of future-proofed clinical spaces to ensure the creation of integrated systems that foster a cohesive and harmonious user experience. Clinical Trial: N/a
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