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Abstract

Problem identification: Perioperative emergencies, although infrequent, may lead to significant morbidity and mortality associated with anaesthesia and/or surgery. Human factor errors account for between 43 to 65 per cent of sentinel events in the perioperative environment. Cognitive aids were introduced to reduce a user’s cognitive workload and assist in adherence to key interventions during emergencies. Despite the availability of these aids, implementation of their use remains low. This integrative literature review will identify the barriers to and facilitators of the implementation of cognitive aids during perioperative emergencies.

Literature search: An electronic database search of EBSCO databases (CINAHL Complete, Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition, MEDLINE, MEDLINE Complete), Pubmed and Scopus were conducted to obtain contemporary literature. Duplicates were removed and inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied. A total of 14 articles were identified for inclusion.

Data evaluation and synthesis: Included articles were critically analysed and appraised using the JBI critical appraisal tools to assess for the methodological quality of the research, and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) evidence hierarchy to assess for reliability and validity. A data extraction table (literature matrix) was used to record the article’s author, date of publication, research title, population, study design, level of evidence, key findings, implications for practice and limitations. This aided in synthesis of the selected studies, thematic analysis and drawing conclusions.

Implications for practice: Strong design and staff education were identified as facilitators of cognitive aid implementation while poor design and lack of organisational support were identified as barriers to cognitive aid implementation. Nursing leaders and educators have a vital role to play in gaining organisational support to provide staff education and training and develop appropriately designed cognitive aids.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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