Presentation
HE4 - Building Empathy through Ethnographic Research: OR Case Study
DescriptionWhen designing products that will be used by multiple types of users, it is crucial to develop an understanding of each individual user group to promote empathy-driven design. In the Operating Room (OR) environment specifically, there are many different players ranging from the surgeons and surgery techs to anesthesiologists and CRNAs. Each clinician group is governed by their own unique set of motivations and challenges when interacting with our team’s patient monitors. Given the complexity and confounding variables in the environment, ethnographic research was a valuable tool to ensure the data collected was holistic.
Our team was interested in the monitoring responsibilities of anesthesiologists, CRNAs, and perfusionists before, during, and after a cardiac surgery patient is put on cardiopulmonary bypass. For each procedure observation, our team shadowed a distinct user group as they navigated through the pre-op preparation, intra-op monitoring and support, and post-op recovery (if necessary). By physically planting ourselves next to the clinician through the duration of the case, our team observed what the clinicians see, hear, and interact with, as well as what indications on the monitoring screens evoked reactions. Besides general observations, the team also gathered images of the clinician’s perspective in the OR and answers to key questions compiled from various cross functional teams. All these observations and conversations were documented onto digital sticky notes and the findings were affinitized between various hospital sites. These efforts enabled the team to build a better understanding of each user group as well as identify the interaction points between user groups through journey maps.
By dedicating research efforts into the clinicians in their specific use environments, our team was able to build foundational knowledge on our user groups. These data points allow us to refer to concrete observations and findings as we start developing designs and making design decisions for our future monitoring devices.
Our team was interested in the monitoring responsibilities of anesthesiologists, CRNAs, and perfusionists before, during, and after a cardiac surgery patient is put on cardiopulmonary bypass. For each procedure observation, our team shadowed a distinct user group as they navigated through the pre-op preparation, intra-op monitoring and support, and post-op recovery (if necessary). By physically planting ourselves next to the clinician through the duration of the case, our team observed what the clinicians see, hear, and interact with, as well as what indications on the monitoring screens evoked reactions. Besides general observations, the team also gathered images of the clinician’s perspective in the OR and answers to key questions compiled from various cross functional teams. All these observations and conversations were documented onto digital sticky notes and the findings were affinitized between various hospital sites. These efforts enabled the team to build a better understanding of each user group as well as identify the interaction points between user groups through journey maps.
By dedicating research efforts into the clinicians in their specific use environments, our team was able to build foundational knowledge on our user groups. These data points allow us to refer to concrete observations and findings as we start developing designs and making design decisions for our future monitoring devices.
Event Type
Poster Presentation
TimeTuesday, March 264:45pm - 6:15pm CDT
LocationSalon C
Digital Health
Simulation and Education
Hospital Environments
Medical and Drug Delivery Devices
Patient Safety Research and Initiatives