An observational study on information flow during nurses' shift change

We present an observational study that was conducted to guide the design and development of technologies to support information flow during nurses' shift change in a hospital ward. Our goal is to find out how the complex information sharing processes during nurses' brief shift change unfold in a hospital setting. Our study shows the multitude of information media that nurses access during the parallel processes of information assembly and disassembly: digital, paper-based, displayed and verbal media. An initial analysis reveals how the common information spaces, where information media are positioned and accessible by all participants, are actively used and how they interact with the personal information spaces ephemerally constructed by the participants. Several types of information are consistently transposed from the common information spaces to the personal information space including: demographics, historical data, reminders and to-dos, alerts, prompts, scheduling and r...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2007
• Where: CHI
• Authors: Charlotte Tang, M. Sheelagh T. Carpendale
• Keywords: CHI 2007, Common Information Spaces, Human Computer Interaction, Information Sharing Processes, Personal Information Space