Journal List > J Korean Acad Nurs Adm > v.25(4) > 1135010

Yu, Lee, Kim, and Jun: Concept Analysis of the Work Interruption by Nurses

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to identify the attributes, antecedents, and consequences of nurse's work interruptions.

Methods

Walker and Avant's concept analysis method was used to analyze this concept. Relevant articles published before August 2018 were searched through MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, KISS, and RISS databases using “interruption,” “work or task,” and “nurse” as keywords.

Results

The attributes of work interruption by nurses were as follows: 1) new tasks to do; 2) cognitive transition of work priorities; 3) loss of work continuity; 4) tasks to be resumed. The antecedents of work interruption were intrusion of unplanned events, internal and external factors that result in nurses forgetting their original intentions, an unpredictable work environment, and cultural climate where interruptions are considered as a part of the work process. The consequences of work interruption were decline in job satisfaction, trigger of work errors, lengthening of work completion time, decline in work productivity, increase in work stress, and delay of transferring needed information in a timely manner.

Conclusion

The results of this study provide basic data to reduce the negative consequences of nurses' work interruptions, and contribute to expanding the knowledge necessary for improving patients' safety and nurses' performance.

Figures and Tables

Figure 1

Preferred reporting items for concept analysis of interruption.

jkana-25-272-g001
Figure 2

Conceptual structure of interruption.

jkana-25-272-g002

Notes

This study was supported by the Dong-A University Research Fund.

Appendix

Appendix 1

The List of Articles applied in Concept Analysis

A1. Baethge A, Rigotti T. Interruptions to workflow: Their relationship with irritation and satisfaction with performance, and the mediating roles of time pressure and mental demands. Work & Stress. 2013;27(1):43-63. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678373.2013.761783
A2. Berg LM, Kallberg AS, Ehrenberg A, Florin J, Ostergren J, Djarv T, et al. Factors influencing clinicians' perceptions of interruptions as disturbing or non-disturbing: A qualitative study. International Emergency Nursing. 2016;27:11-16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ienj.2016.01.003
A3. Biron AD, Lavoie-Tremblay M, Loiselle CG. Characteristics of work interruptions during medication administration. Journal of Nursing Scholarship. 2009;41(4):330-336. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1547-5069.2009.01300.x
A4. Brixey JJ, Robinson DJ, Tang Z, Johnson TR, Zhang J, Turley JP. Interruptions in workflow for RNs in a level one trauma center. AMIA Annual Symposium Proceedings. 2005:86-90.
A5. Brixey JJ, Robinson DJ, Turley JP, Zhang J. The roles of MDs and RNs as initiators and recipients of interruptions in workflow. International Journal of Medical Informatics. 2010;79 (6):e109-e115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2008.08.007
A6. Brixey JJ, Tang Z, Robinson DJ, Johnson CW, Johnson TR, Turley JP, et al. Interruptions in a level one trauma center: A case study. International Journal of Medical Informatics. 2008;77(4):235-241. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2007.04.006
A7. Cole G, Stefanus D, Gardner H, Levy MJ, Klein EY. The impact of interruptions on the duration of nursing interventions: A direct observation study in an academic emergency department. BMJ Quality & Safety. 2016;25(6):457-465. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjqs-2014-003683
A8. Craker NC, Myers RA, Eid J, Parikh P, McCarthy MC, Zink K, et al. Nursing interruptions in a trauma intensive care unit: A prospective observational study. The Journal of Nursing Administration. 2017;47(4):205-211. https://doi.org/10.1097/NNA.0000000000000466
A9. Dante A, Andrigo I, Barone F, Bonamico R, De Chiara A, Nait M, et al. Occurrence and duration of interruptions during nurses' work in surgical wards: Findings from a multicenter observational Study. Journal of Nursing Care Quality. 2016; 31(2):174-182. https://doi.org/10.1097/ncq.0000000000000159
A10. Elfering A, Grebner S, Ebener C. Workflow interruptions, cognitive failure and near-accidents in health care. Psychology, Health & Medicine. 2015;20(2):139-147. https://doi.org/10.1080/13548506.2014.913796
A11. Grundgeiger T, Sanderson P, MacDougall HG, Venkatesh B. Interruption management in the intensive care unit: Predicting resumption times and assessing distributed support. Journal of Experimental Psychology. 2010;16(4):317-334. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021912
A12. Jeanmonod R, Boyd M, Loewenthal M, Triner W. The nature of emergency department interruptions and their impact on patient satisfaction. Emergency Medicine Journal. 2010;27 (5):376-379. https://doi.org/10.1136/emj.2008.071134
A13. Johnson KD, Alhaj-Ali A. Using simulation to assess the impact of triage interruptions. Journal of Emergency Nursing. 2017;43(5):435-443. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jen.2017.04.008
A14. Kreckler S, Catchpole K, Bottomley M, Handa A, McCulloch P. Interruptions during drug rounds: an observational study. British Journal of Nursing. 2008;17(21):1326-1330. https://doi.org/10.12968/bjon.2008.17.21.31732
A15.Mamykina L, Carter EJ, Sheehan B, Stanley HR, Twohig BC, Kaufman DR. Driven to distraction: The nature and apparent purpose of interruptions in critical care and implications for HIT. Journal of Biomedical Informatics. 2017;69:43-54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbi.2017.01.015
A16.McGillis HL, Pedersen C, Fairley L. Losing the moment: Understanding interruptions to nurses' work. The Journal of Nursing Administration. 2010;40(4):169-176. https://doi.org/10.1097/NNA.0b013e3181d41162
A17.Monteiro C, Avelar AF, Pedreira ML. Interruptions of nurses' activities and patient safety: An integrative literature review. Revista Latino-Americana de Enfermagem. 2015;23(1):169-179. https://doi.org/10.1590/0104-1169.0251.2539
A18. Pereira D, Muller P, Elfering A. Workflow interruptions, social stressors from supervisor (s) and attention failure in surgery personnel. Industrial Health. 2015;53(5):427-433. https://doi.org/10.2486/indhealth.2013-0219
A19. Potter P, Wolf L, Boxerman S, Grayson D, Sledge J, Dunagan C, et al. Understanding the cognitive work of nursing in the acute care environment. The Journal of Nursing Administration. 2005;35(7-8):327-335. https://doi.org/10.1097/00005110-200507000-00004
A20. Rivera AJ. A socio-technical systems approach to studying interruptions: Understanding the interrupter's perspective. Applied Ergonomics. 2014;45(3):747-756. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2013.08.009
A21. Sasangohar F, Donmez B, Easty AC, Trbovich PL. Effects of nested interruptions on task resumption: A laboratory study with intensive care nurses. Human Factors. 2017;59(4): 628-639. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018720816689513
A22. Rhu EJ, Lee EN. Relationship among task interruption and task performance and burn-out in emergency room nurses. Journal of Korean Critical Care Nursing. 2013;6(1):34-43.

References

1. Wikipedia. Interrupt [Internet]. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.;cited 2019 March 26. Available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interrupt.
2. Brixey JJ, Tang Z, Robinson DJ, Johnson CW, Johnson TR, Turley JP, et al. Interruptions in a level one trauma center: A case study. International Journal of Medical Informatics. 2008; 77(4):235–241. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2007.04.006.
crossref
3. Brixey JJ, Robinson DJ, Turley JP, Zhang J. The roles of MDs and RNs as initiators and recipients of interruptions in workflow. International Journal of Medical Informatics. 2010; 79(6):e109–e115. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2008.08.007.
crossref
4. Chisholm CD, Collison EK, Nelson DR, Cordell WH. Emergency department workplace interruptions: are emergency physicians “interrupt-driven” and “multitasking”? Academic Emergency Medicine. 2000; 7(11):1239–1243. DOI: 10.1111/j.1553-2712.2000.tb00469.x.
crossref
5. Altmann EM, Trafton JG. Timecourse of recovery from task interruption: Data and a model. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review. 2007; 14(6):1079–1084. DOI: 10.3758/bf03193094.
crossref
6. Page A. Keeping patients safe: Transforming the work environment of nurses. Richard and Hinda Rosenthal lectures, 2003. Washington (DC): National Academies Press;2005.
7. Tucker AL, Spear SJ. Operational failures and interruptions in hospital nursing. Health Services Research Journal. 2006; 41(3 Pt 1):643–662. DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-6773.2006.00502.x.
crossref
8. Kalisch BJ, Aebersold M. Interruptions and multitasking in nursing care. Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety. 2010; 36(3):126–132. DOI: 10.1016/s1553-7250(10)36021-1.
crossref
9. Cole G, Stefanus D, Gardner H, Levy MJ, Klein EY. The impact of interruptions on the duration of nursing interventions: A direct observation study in an academic emergency department. BMJ Quality & Safety. 2016; 25(6):457–465. DOI: 10.1136/bmjqs-2014-003683.
crossref
10. Rhu EJ, Lee EN. Relationship among task interruption and task performance and burn-out in emergency room nurses. Journal of Korean Critical Care Nursing. 2013; 6(1):34–43.
11. Westbrook JI, Woods A, Rob MI, Dunsmuir WT, Day RO. Association of interruptions with an increased risk and severity of medication administration errors. Archives of Internal Medicine. 2010; 170(8):683–690. DOI: 10.1001/archinternmed.2010.65.
crossref
12. Lea VM, Corlett SA, Rodgers RM. Describing interruptions, multi-tasking and task-switching in community pharmacy: A qualitative study in England. International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy. 2015; 37(6):1086–1094. DOI: 10.1007/s11096-015-0155-7.
crossref
13. Kwon M, Kim SR. The job stress and presenteeism of occupational health nurses in workplace in Korea. Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing. 2010; 19(2):159–169.
14. Seo NR, Lee MH. Evaluation of nursing information systems in a general hospital. Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration. 2001; 7(1):111–126.
15. Rivera AJ. A socio-technical systems approach to studying interruptions: Understanding the interrupter's perspective. Applied Ergonomics. 2014; 45(3):747–756. DOI: 10.1016/j.apergo.2013.08.009.
crossref
16. Monteiro C, Avelar AF, Pedreira ML. Interruptions of nurses' activities and patient safety: An integrative literature review. Revista Latino-Americana de Enfermagem. 2015; 23(1):169–179. DOI: 10.1590/0104-1169.0251.2539.
crossref
17. Walker LO, Avant KC. Strategies for theory construction in nursing. 5th edition. Boston: Prentice Hall;2011.
18. Rodgers BL, Knafl KA. Concept development in nursing: Foundations, techniques, and applications. 2nd ed. London: Saunders;2000.
19. National Institute of Korean Language. Interrupt. Korean Standard Dictionary [Internet]. Seoul: The National Institute of the Korean Language;cited March 19, 2019. Available from: https://stdict.korean.go.kr/search/searchView.do?searchKeyword=%EC%A4%91%EB%8B%A8.
20. Cambridge Dictionary. Interrupt [Internet]. Cambridge University Presses. cited 2019 March 26. Available from: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/interrupt.
21. Lee KH, Jung SK, Kim HJ, Lee IS, Kim JW. Interruption in digital convergence: Focused on multi-modality and multi-tasking. Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea. 2007; 26(3):67–80. DOI: 10.5143/JESK.2007.26.3.067.
crossref
22. Byeon MS. Digital age distribution marketing. Marketing. 2001; 35(12):58–62.
23. Kim HK, Kim HS, Choi CS. The analysis of relative efficiency in Gangwon general high schools. Korean Educational Review. 2015; 21(1):5–26.
24. Lee HS, Im MH. Improvement of class interrupting behaviors of children with autism spectrum disorder through reflective journal writing. Journal of Emotional & Behavioral Disorders. 2016; 32(1):175–189.
25. Brixey JJ, Robinson DJ, Johnson CW, Johnson TR, Turley JP, Zhang J. A concept analysis of the phenomenon interruption. Advances in Nursing Science. 2007; 30(1):E26–E42. DOI: 10.1097/00012272-200701000-00012.
crossref
26. Sasangohar F, Donmez B, Easty AC, Trbovich PL. Effects of nested interruptions on task resumption: A laboratory study with intensive care nurses. Human Factors. 2017; 59(4):628–639. DOI: 10.1177/0018720816689513.
crossref
27. Hall LM, Ferguson-Pare M, Peter E, White D, Besner J, Chisholm A, et al. Going blank: Factors contributing to interruptions to nurses' work and related outcomes. Journal of Nursing Management. 2010; 18(8):1040–1047. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2834.2010.01166.x.
crossref
28. Jeanmonod R, Boyd M, Loewenthal M, Triner W. The nature of emergency department interruptions and their impact on patient satisfaction. Emergency Medicine Journal. 2010; 27(5):376–379. DOI: 10.1136/emj.2008.071134.
crossref
29. Grundgeiger T, Sanderson P, MacDougall HG, Venkatesh B. Interruption management in the intensive care unit: Predicting resumption times and assessing distributed support. Journal of Experimental Psychology. 2010; 16(4):317–334. DOI: 10.1037/a0021912.
crossref
30. Sacred Heart University. Single and multiple interruptions increase task completion time, but don't affect stress, pressure or flow [Internet]. United States: Sacred Heart University;2010. cited 2010 March 26. Available from: http://digitalcommons.sacredheart.edu/wcob_wp/1.
TOOLS
ORCID iDs

Eun-Jeong Yu
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2188-9104

Eun-Nam Lee
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9421-0118

Similar articles