NASA-TLX Assessment of Surgeon Workload Variation Across Specialties

Objective:
With advancements in surgical equipment and procedures, human–system interactions in operating rooms affect surgeon workload and performance. Workload was measured across surgical specialties using surveys to identify potential predictors of high workload for future performance improvement.
Summary Background Data:
Surgical instrumentation and technique advancements have implications for surgeon workload and human–systems interactions. To understand and improve the interaction of components in the work system, NASA-Task Load Index can measure workload across various fields. Baseline workload measurements provide a broad overview of the field and identify areas most in need of improvement.
Methods:
Surgeons were administered a modified NASA-Task Load Index survey (0 = low, 20 = high) following each procedure. Patient and procedural factors were retrieved retrospectively.
Results:
Thirty-four surgeons (41% female) completed 662 surgery surveys (M = 14.85, SD = 7.94), of which 506 (76%) have associated patient and procedural data. Mental demand (M = 7.7, SD = 5.56), physical demand (M = 7.0, SD = 5.66), and effort (M = 7.8, SD = 5.77) were the highest rated workload subscales. Surgeons reported difficulty levels higher than expected for 22% of procedures, during which workload was significantly higher (P 0.001). Surgeons reported poorer perceived performance during cases with unexpectedly high difficulty (P

Source: Annals of Surgery - March 19, 2020 Category: Surgery Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLES Source Type: research