Single-Blind Examination of Rural Healthcare Provider Situation Awareness to a Novel Wearable Device for Patient Safety and Care Management

Abstract

Background: Effective communication between research and clinical care teams is essential for ensuring clinical trial participant safety. Current methods, such as paper documents and electronic health records are inconsistently used and poorly standardized. This study evaluated a prototype wearable device, TrialWear, designed to passively convey trial-related safety information during patient assessments. Methods: In a simulated emergency setting, 14 nurses conducted patient assessments while wearing eye-tracking glasses. Results: The majority (92.9%) visually identified the wearable; 85.7% interacted with the wearable, though most participants required a prompt for initial user interaction. Eye-tracking saccades and fixations revealed strong correlations between fixation metrics and engagement. Conclusion: This study highlights the potential of wearable devices to enhance communication in clinical settings and inform future design improvements for intuitive and effective integration into healthcare workflows.