Fatigue and Situation Awareness
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Fatigue and Situation Awareness: A within-subjects objective measure of the effects of fatigue on situation awareness in doctors using Eye Track glasses
IRAS ID
264809
Contact name
Natalie Smith
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
CTRG
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 3 months, 1 days
Research summary
This research will explore whether fatigue has a harmful effect on situation awareness (SA) in doctors. SA is basically about knowing what is going on around us. It is difficult to measure, with studies often using subjective methods, such as questionnaires/written tools.
Attitudes to working hours, shift patterns and breaks for doctors are notoriously poor, with seemingly less concern for the risks of fatigue than in other safety critical industries. If a difference is found in doctor's SA when when fatigued, it will provide objective evidence for use in arguments for safer working conditions in healthcare workers and for the utility of human factors training.
We will use an eye tracking system to provide an objective measure of SA while participants undertake a task looking at 12 simulated patient monitors displaying vital signs for 15 seconds, and one of the vital signs will change during this time. The screen will then go blank and participants must note down each original vital sign value, tick a box to mark which value changed and whether the change was an increase or decrease.
The eye tracking system will give data on visual fixation metrics, such as what areas of the screen the participant focussed on and for how long. Data will also be drawn from how many correct vitals and changes the participants noted down. The study will be repeated within subjects; once when non-fatigued, with a normal night’s rest, and once immediately following a night shift. Participants will be recruited from Oxford University Hospitals and randomised to determine whether they undertake the fatigued or non-fatigued task first.
REC name
N/A
REC reference
N/A