Clinical trial NCT02519205: Measuring Fatigue in Triage: A Pilot Study
Official title: Measuring Fatigue in Triage: A Pilot Study
Study type: OBSERVATIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Conditions: Fatigue
Lead sponsor: Duke University
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2015-08-10
Enrollment: 28
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Observational model: COHORT
Time perspective: PROSPECTIVE
Sampling method: NON_PROBABILITY_SAMPLE
Study population: ED Triage nurses

Brief summary: The purpose of this study is to determine how the length of a triage shift (i.e. 4 vs., 8 vs., 12 hours) affects fatigue levels among triage nurses in the Emergency Department (ED).

Detailed description: This will be a prospective descriptive pilot study. The demographic data forms and the adapted reaction questionnaires will be administered to subjects via pen and paper after obtaining informed consent at the conclusion of the staff meetings. They will be collected by administrative assistants and placed into a secure drop box, located in the study coordinator's office. Only the assigned unique subject ID will be used on all data forms.

During the ED triage data collection phase, administrative assistants will be on-site to give triage nurses the fatigue questionnaire. It will be completed using pen and paper every two hours, with subjects cued to complete the questionnaire by administrative assistants.

After the subject completes the survey, he/she will place it in an envelope and hand it to the administrative assistant who will place it into a secured drop box, located in a study coordinator's office. No PHI or identifying data will be on the completed surveys. Each participant will only use the previously assigned unique subject ID, known only to the study coordinator \& Co-PIs, \& PI. The key to the unique ID will be kept in a locked secure file accessible only by the study coordinator and Co-PI.

Data will be collected over a total of six 24-hour periods. The first 24-hour data collection period will take place on a high volume day (Monday) in which triage nurses will be assigned to 12-hour triage shifts. The second 24-hour data collection period will take place on a low volume day (Sunday) in which triages nurses will again be assigned to 12-hour triage shifts. The third 24-hour data collection period will take place on a high volume day (Monday) in which nurses will be assigned to 8-hour triage shifts. The fourth 24-hour data collection period will take place on a low volume day (Sunday) in which nurses will again be assigned to 8-hour triage shifts. The fifth 24-hour data collection period will take place on a high volume day (Monday) in which nurses will be assigned to 4-hour triage shifts. The sixth 24-hour data collection period will take place on a low volume day (Sunday) in which nurses will again be assigned to 4-hour triage shifts.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

-Eligible nurses include those who:

* are regularly assigned to triage
* have demonstrated competency by passing the ESI Triage class. (Nurses in both emergency departments are required to attend a course in Emergency Severity Index (ESI), as well as demonstrate competency through ESI testing prior to being assigned to work in the triage area. Before taking the course, a nurse is required to have one year of nursing experience.)

Exclusion Criteria:

* None

Primary outcomes:
measure: Fatigue level, as measured by questionnaire
timeFrame: 24 hours
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Durham
country: United States
facility: Duke Regional Hospital
state: North Carolina
Study officials:
References: