Lighting the Way to Ergonomics Healthcare: Eye-blink-inferred Cognitive Load and Illumination in Medical Administration Tasks

Abstract: The present study was designed to undertake an investigation into the effects of varying ambient illumination levels on the cognitive load of prospective healthcare professionals engaged in a simulated medication administration task.Background: The occurrence of medication errors constitutes a significant risk within healthcare systems, with such errors frequently being attributed to the substantial cognitive load imposed upon clinical personnel. Although ambient illumination is a fundamental component of the healthcare environment, its direct influence on cognitive load remains insufficiently understood. The application of objective methodologies such as eye-tracking offers the potential for precise insights where subjective assessments may be inadequate.Design: Our experiment employed a within-subjects design.Methods: Twenty-nine nursing and medical students performed a computer-based prescription verification task under three rigorously controlled ambient light conditions: 50 lux (dim), 500 lux (standard), and 1000 lux (bright). An eye-tracking technique was utilized to record the spontaneous blink frequency of participants, serving as an objective proxy for cognitive load. The resultant data were subjected to a repeated measures Analysis of Variance (ANOVA).Results: A statistically significant main effect of the illumination condition on cognitive load was identified (F(2,56)=4.90,p=.011). Post-hoc analyses revealed that the 1000 lux condition elicited a significantly higher blink frequency in comparison to the 50 lux condition, indicating an elevation in cognitive strain under bright illumination. Critically, a more granular analysis of individual response patterns exposed a predominant "U-shaped" relationship in the majority of participants (51.7%), wherein the minimum cognitive load was observed at the intermediate 500 lux level.Conclusion: The findings of this study contest the simplistic "brighter is better" paradigm often applied to environmental design. Strong evidence is provided to suggest that while excessively bright illumination can function as a cognitive stressor, a moderate level of approximately 500 lux constitutes an "ergonomic sweet spot" for screen-based tasks. The optimization of workplace illumination is therefore presented as a critical, evidence-based strategy for the management of cognitive strain and the enhancement of patient safety.

Keywords: cognitive load, ergonomics, illumination, blink frequency, healthcare, medication administration, eye-tracking, nursing students, medical students.

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1006978

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