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RESEARCH INTERESTS
Human simulation
Measures of performance and/or error in medical applications
Efficiency and safety in clinical trial research
Errors in clinical research
Medical information management
Medical device testing and design
Dynamic decision-making in medical environments
Teamwork in medical environments
Effects of fatigue on practitioner performance
CURRENT PROJECTS
Information Management in the Perioperative Environment (8/1/2006 – 7/31/2011)
New technologies are expanding the amount of information available to health care practitioners. In the perioperative environment, this includes an increase in patient-monitoring data. The dynamic nature of the perioperative environment makes it especially susceptible to problems of information overload. There is a need for a holistic and human centered approach in the analysis and redesign of perioperative information displays. The main hypothesis for this research is that the application of human factors design principles and the use of a human centered design process will lead to the design of perioperative information displays that improve patient care compared to current systems. This research project involves four main components:
(1) identification of human factors design principles based on contemporary theories of human decision making, situation awareness, and teamwork that are relevant to the dynamic, mobile, risky, team-based, and information-rich perioperative environment,
(2) the application of cognitive task analyses and knowledge elicitation methods to identify the important information requirements for the perioperative environment,
(3) the design of perioperative information management systems using a human-centered approach that includes a process of iterative user evaluation and redesign, and
(4) comparison of the new designs with conventional perioperative information displays under anesthesia crisis management scenarios using a human patient simulator.
In addition to the potential to improve patient safety through better information management in the perioperative environment, the results of this effort will have implications for (1) training in the perioperative environment and for (2) system design in other dynamic, safety-critical health care environments.
Funding: NIH Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Objective Measures of Performance in Simulated Anesthesia: A Comparison of Novices and Experts, Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (1/1/2006 – 9/30/2007)
One major limitation in the use of human patient simulators in anesthesiology training and assessment is a lack of objective, validated measures of human performance. Objective measures are necessary if simulators are to be used to evaluate the skills and training of anesthesia providers and teams or to evaluate the impact of new processes or equipment design on overall system performance. There are two main goals of this project. The first goal is to quantitatively compare objective measures of anesthesia provider performance with regard to their sensitivity to both provider experience and simulated anesthesia case difficulty. We are comparing previously validated measures of anesthesia provider performance to two objective measures that are fairly novel to the environment of anesthesia care: an objective measure of provider situation awareness and a measure of provider eye scan patterns. The second goal of this project is to qualitatively evaluate the situation awareness and eye tracking data to identify key determinants of expertise in anesthesia providers. These determinants of expertise may then be used to further enhance objective measures of performance as assessment tools and to inform training of anesthesia providers.
Funding: Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation and the recipient of the Ellison C. Pierce, Jr. Education Research Award
3DiTeams: Gaming Environment for Training Healthcare Team Coordination Skills (9/30/2006 – 9/29/2007)
Effective team coordination is critical for the safe delivery of care. Development of these skills requires training and practice in an interactive team-based environment. A three-dimensional serious game environment provides an engaging and cost effective alternative to other interactive training solutions such as human patient simulation. In this project we are developing a three-dimensional interactive networked system for training of military health care team coordination skills. Although this is a development project with no formal experimental hypothesis, we will conduct qualitative evaluations of the design specification and alpha and beta versions of a demonstration prototype. Ease of use, practicality, scope, and effectiveness of the training system will be assessed through heuristic analysis by experts in team training. Our specific aims include:
• Development of an immersive environment software platform for training of health care skills.
• Content development for the training of team coordination skills.
• Prototype of the 3D immersive environment using a military trauma scenario for the purposes of proof-of-concept.
• Planning for an assessment of ease of use and efficacy through an experimental trial at Duke University Medical Center.
The development of 3DiMD will provide an effective solution to the problem of expanding the scope of team coordination skill training in military health care environments. In addition, the software platform we develop will allow for the integration of multiple scenarios and work environments (e.g., training modules) to allow expansion into public health care environments.
Funding: Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center, US Army Medical and Materiel Command
Virtual Health Care Environments vs. Traditional Interactive Team Training (9/30/2006 – 9/29/2008)
Research suggests that training of team coordination skills will be most effective when it incorporates opportunities for interactive practice of those skills in realistic work environments. There is little experimental evidence assessing and comparing the impact of different interactive training approaches with respect to improving the team coordination skills of participants. A multidisciplinary team of researchers at Duke University Medical Center, in collaboration with University of North Carolina Health Care, is developing several simulation approaches toward interactive training of health care team coordination. In addition, Duke University Medical Center and Virtual Heroes, Inc. are developing a 3D-interactive networked virtual reality team training tool (3DiTeams). The primary objective of this project is to assess methods of interactive team training in order to design and implement a health care team training program that is (1) cost effective, (2) feasibly implemented in clinical work and professional health care education environments, and (3) has substantial impact on the team coordination skills of trainees. Specific aims include: (1) pilot testing of 3DiTeams as an alternative to traditional interactive team training, (2) experimental comparison of participants' improvement in team knowledge and behaviors following training using 3DiTeams and an alternative interactive team training approach (e.g., high fidelity patient simulation), and (3) evaluation of the resulting experimental data along with realistic cost estimates to design and pilot test an efficient and effective team training program within Duke University Health System. This research has the potential to significantly advance the delivery and distribution of effective team coordination training. Resulting experimental evidence should assist health care organizations in choosing or developing methods of training health care team skills. This research will also provide information needed to support a long term goal of developing health care team training that will be exportable beyond Duke. More importantly, the improvements in health care team training that result from this research are expected to have a broader impact on public health through the reduction of health care adverse events and enhancement of patient safety.
Funding: NIH Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Defining the Learning Curve in Research Trials (present - May 2007)
Clinical trials play an important role in the advancement of medical care. Over $ 6 billion are spent annually on clinical research. Clinical protocols are increasingly complex. Data inaccuracy in the early phase of a new research trial is a commonly known, but incompletely described component of clinical research. These errors are likely a result of coordinators lacking mastery of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to properly conduct the research protocol. Most historical studies on research integrity consider ethical issues associated with clinical trials and protocol design. Little attention has been paid to issues of data integrity and patient safety in the proper conduct of a trial. Modern theory stresses the importance of interactivity in learning. Simulation is considered a top methodology for learning complex behaviors. The use of high-fidelity patient simulation in clinical research training is expected to improve the coordinator’s acquisition of the knowledge, skills, and behaviors needed to properly perform a protocol. Enhanced coordinator performance is expected to lead to improved data integrity and heightened patient safety. Recent efforts in our laboratory demonstrate marked improvement in coordinator confidence following high-fidelity simulation training (in their ability to properly conduct the trial). Objective measures of coordinator competence are now needed to properly assess the effects of simulation training on research integrity. One objective method of assessing coordinator competence is through queries of errors in the protocol’s data record. The goal of this study was to first define a taxonomy to categorize and quantify errors rates in a reproducible fashion. The taxonomy was then used to define error rates and the learning curve in a recently completed multi-center trial. This project provides the groundwork for future studies investigating the impact of high-fidelity simulation on the competent performance of a clinical trial.
Funding: NIH Office of Research Integrity / National Institute of Neurologic Disorders and Stroke
COMPLETED PROJECTS
Development of a decision support tool for the detection, diagnosis, and treatment of perioperative myocardial ischemia and infarction
Co-investigator Dr. Noa Segall (under the direction of Dr. David Kaber, North Carolina State University, and guidance of Dr. Wright and Dr. Taekman in the Duke Human Simulation and Patient Safety Center) developed a computerized system for detection, diagnosis, and treatment of perioperative myocardial ischemia and infarction (MI) as part of her dissertation. The development approach involved: (1) performing a hierarchical task analysis to identify anesthetist procedures in detecting, diagnosing and treating MI; (2) carrying out a goal-directed task analysis to elicit goals, decisions, and information requirements of anesthetists during this crisis management procedure; (3) coding the information collected in the task analyses using a computational cognitive model; and (4) prototyping an interface to present output from the cognitive model using ecological interface design principles. Validation of the MI support tool (MIST) involved subjective evaluations of the tool and its interface design through an applicability assessment and a usability inspection. For the applicability assessment, three expert anesthesiologists were recruited to observe the MIST perform during the two hypothetical scenarios, hypotension and MI. They provided feedback on the clinical correctness of the information presented and all three experts indicated that, further refined, they would use the tool in the operating room. Heuristic evaluation was employed to inspect the usability of the interface. Two usability experts and the three anesthesiologists were asked to identify human-computer interaction design heuristics that were violated in the interface and to describe the problems identified. The reviewers commented on the use of fonts and colors, medical terminology, organization of information, and more. Future efforts by our research team will incorporate the use of more flexible interface design software to develop user interfaces with a wider range of presentation and interaction methods.
Funding: Department of Anesthesiology, Duke University Medical Center; Department of Industrial Engineering, North Carolina State University
Assessment of Confidence in Clinical Research Coordinators
Training of healthcare research personnel is a critical component of quality assurance in clinical trials. Interactivity (such as simulation) is desirable compared to traditional methods of teaching. We studied subjective assessments of confidence for clinical research coordinators following interactive simulation as a supplement to standard training methods. Our initial evaluations revealed that ratings of confidence increased significantly after the simulation exercise compared to pre-exercise ratings. Significant improvements were found along all three dimensions of Bloom’s Taxonomy including affective, psychomotor, and cognitive scales. We suggest that simulation exercises should be considered when training study coordinators for complex clinical research trials.
Funding: Department of Anesthesiology, Duke University Medical Center
Objective Measures of Performance in Simulated Anesthesia:
A Comparison of Novices and Experts
One major limitation in the use of human patient simulators in
anesthesiology training and assessment is a lack of objective,
validated measures of human performance. Objective measures are
necessary if simulators are to be used to evaluate the skills
and training of anesthesia providers and teams or to evaluate
the impact of new processes or equipment design on overall system
performance. There are two main goals of this project. The first
goal is to quantitatively compare objective measures of anesthesia
provider performance with regard to their sensitivity to both
provider experience and simulated anesthesia case difficulty.
We will compare previously validated measures of anesthesia provider
performance to two objective measures that are fairly novel to
the environment of anesthesia care: an objective measure of provider
situation awareness and a measure of provider eye scan patterns.
The second goal of this project is to qualitatively evaluate the
situation awareness and eye tracking data to identify key determinants
of expertise in anesthesia providers. These determinants of expertise
may then be used to further enhance objective measures of performance
as assessment tools and to inform training of anesthesia providers.
This project is funded by the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation
and is the recipient of the Ellison C. Pierce, Jr. Education Research
Award. http://www.apsf.org/grants/recipients.mspx
Assessment of Confidence in Clinical
Research Coordinators
Training of healthcare research personnel is a critical component
of quality assurance in clinical trials. Interactivity (such as
simulation) is desirable compared to traditional methods of teaching.
We are studying subjective assessments of confidence for clinical
research coordinators following interactive simulation as a supplement
to standard training methods. Our initial evaluations revealed
that ratings of confidence increased significantly after the simulation
exercise compared to pre-exercise ratings. Significant improvements
were found along all three dimensions of Bloom’s Taxonomy
including affective, psychomotor, and cognitive scales. We suggest
that simulation exercises should be considered when training study
coordinators for complex clinical research trials.
Effects of Time of Day and Surgery
Duration on Adverse Events in Anesthesia
This project, funded by the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation
(APSF), evaluates perioperative data for effects of time of day
and surgery duration on the incidence of anesthetic adverse events
(AEs). While the effects of fatigue on clinical performance are
measurable, these decrements in performance have not been clearly
linked to adverse clinical outcomes for patients. Potential risk
factors for anesthetic mishaps that may be associated with fatigue
include the time of day that surgery takes place and the duration
of surgery. Data from a perioperative “Quality Improvement”
(QI) database used by the Duke University Medical Center containing
details from over 86,000 surgical procedures is being coded and
analyzed for time of day and surgery duration effects. The project
involves review of the QI event labels and associated free text
by Anesthesiologists to categorize QI documentation into specific
types of Adverse Events. Additional risk factors for AEs such
as patient characteristics and surgical complexity will be included
in the analysis as covariates.
APSF -- http://www.gasnet.org/societies/apsf/grants/current.php
Assessment and Prediction of Teamwork
Skills
This project, funded by the National Board of Medical Examiners
(NBME) seeks to evaluate assessment tools used in other team performance
contexts for the measurement of medical student teamwork skills
within a small group cooperative learning environment and in a
simulated patient care environment. Researchers in the health
care industry are increasingly aware of the importance of teamwork
skills and advocate a wide variety of training programs related
to team coordination. However, these programs tend to be focused
toward specialty and continuing education. While the assessment
of medical students has covered areas such as interpersonal and
communication skills, these assessments generally focus on the
student’s interaction with the patient and do not assess
team skills in relation to working with other health care providers.
In this research, we hope to answer the following questions: (1)
Will assessment tools used in other team performance contexts
adequately assess individual medical student team skills? (2)
Can these skills be assessed in naturally occurring team learning
environments? (3) Do the results of the teamwork skills assessments
reflect actual team performance or outcome in scenarios using
a human patient simulator? Assessment measures to be evaluated
include self rating of team skills, peer rating of team skills,
observer ratings of team skills, and analysis of communication
content. We will compare results of measures in the small group
environment with measures in a simulated team patient care exercise.
We will also investigate the relationship between individual team
skill assessment measures and objective measures of team performance
in the simulated scenario to determine whether the skill assessment
measures are predictive of actual care performance.
NBME -- http://www.nbme.org/research/stemmler2003_2004.asp
SimDot
SimDot is a multi-disciplinary community of individuals involved
in Medical Simulation. SimDot was created to speed collaboration
and cooperation amongst individuals active in human simulation
around the world. The centerpiece of SimDot is the Simulation
Library. The Simulation Library is a multi-disciplinary, collection
of modules for use in human simulation. The files stored in the
library have been peer-reviewed by specialty specific Editorial
Boards which strive to ensure the quality of the modules.
Medical Equipment Usability
Testing
The Duke Human Simulation and Patient Safety Center has been involved
in usability testing of medical equipment devices such as infusion
pumps. Ongoing efforts seek to assess the usability of medical
devices under stressful situations (such as high time pressure)
that may be simulated through the use of a human patient simulator.
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