Longitudinal Study of Communication in Nursing Organizations Using Wearable Sensors

Abstract: Communication between medical staff is extremely important in team medical care. The authors have used AI technology to quantitatively measure communication in multiple nursing organizations and have examined good communication and teamwork. In this study, we compared the results of two separate surveys conducted in two hospital wards at different times, and examined changes in communication behavior calculated using AI technology. The subjects were the neurosurgical ward of Hospital A and the psychiatric ward of Hospital B. The survey used a business card-type electronic batch to measure communication activity for two weeks. After that, a questionnaire survey was conducted on the teamwork of nurses. The survey was conducted in 2017 (30 people) and 2018 (33 people) at Hospital A, and in 2014 (33 people) and 2020 (21 people) at Hospital B. After each survey, feedback was provided to all participants. The total communication time at Hospital A decreased by 25% for the second survey compared to the first (p <.01). That time of nurses with less than 3 years of experience (inexperienced) decreased by 19.2%, those with 3 to 9 years (mid-level) increased by 29.2%, and those with more than 9 years (veteran) increased by 5.9%. Comparing communication patterns, inexperienced and mid-level nurses spent less time in two-way communication and as listeners (p<.05), while veterans spent more time as speakers (p<.001). The communication time at Hospital B decreased by 33% less than the first survey (p<.05), 36% less for inexperienced and mid-level (p<.05), and 23% less for veterans. Comparing the time spent talking directly by years of experience, all groups spent the same amount of time talking in the first survey. In the second survey, inexperience and mid-level nurses spent significantly more time interacting with veterans (p<.05). The results suggests that the means of smooth information transmission and a chain of command were constructed, and the overall dialogue time was shortened. In addition, the teamwork scale improved in all items, suggesting that a system was created that allowed each individual to act on their own judgment, such as taking coordinated actions as necessary. According to longitudinal research, we were able to confirm changes in communication patterns and dialogue partners, and it is believed that there was a change in awareness of communication. It can be expected to lead to a better information transmission system and better team building.

Keywords: Wearable sensor, Communication, Teamwork, Nursing Organizations

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1004211

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