{"671580":{"#nid":"671580","#data":{"type":"news","title":"GTRI, Children\u2019s Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory Use Wearable Sensors to Address Healthcare Worker Burnout ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EHealthcare worker burnout, a topic that received significant attention during COVID-19, continues to pose risks for the nation\u2019s health and economic wellbeing.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn 2022, nearly half of healthcare workers reported feeling burned out, up from 32% in 2018, and the number of healthcare workers who intended to look for a new job increased by 33% over that same time period, according to a recent \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/vitalsigns\/health-worker-mental-health\/index.html\u0022\u003Ereport\u003C\/a\u003E from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Annual burnout-related turnover costs are estimated to be $9 billion for nurses and $2.6 billion to $6.3 billion for physicians, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.hhs.gov\/surgeongeneral\/priorities\/health-worker-burnout\/index.html\u0022\u003Eper\u003C\/a\u003E the U.S. Surgeon General.\u003Cspan\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ETo address this challenge,\u00ad the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), Children\u2019s Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory University\u2019s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing have conducted a study using wearable sensors to better understand how the interplay of workload, stress, and sleep contribute\u00ad\u00ad to an elevated risk of burnout among healthcare workers and how to mitigate those risks going forward.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe group recently measured real-time movement patterns of physicians and nurses in the cardiac intensive care unit (CICU) at Children\u2019s and collected data on their stress levels, work and sleep cycles, healthcare delivery and perceived workloads. The goal of the study is to develop a methodology that can be used by other healthcare systems across the state to minimize turnover costs by better predicting and addressing factors that trigger burnout.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur ultimate goal with this project is to be able to offer our methodology framework to other healthcare systems throughout Georgia so that they can identify and address the specific challenges they are facing on a more granular level,\u201d said Khatereh Hadi, a senior research scientist at GTRI who is leading this project.\u003Cspan\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ETo measure stress, workload and sleep among the study participants, the team used actigraphy sensors developed by Empatica, a spin-off of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) that designs and develops artificial intelligence (AI) systems to monitor human health through wearable sensors.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThese sensors are among the few on the market that let you directly download the data you collect,\u201d explained GTR Senior Research Scientist Matthew Swarts who led the sensor development aspects of this project.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe participants also wore tags that were connected to ultra-wideband (UWB) sensor systems installed in the ceiling of the CICU to track their movements throughout their shifts.\u003Cspan\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cBecause UWB takes up more radio frequency space, it avoids interference issues that affect other technologies such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. This allowed us to have more penetration and better accuracy,\u201d Swarts said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe study collected data on 40 total participants, who were evaluated over a four-week time period.\u003Cspan\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003EThe team also used the NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX), a widely used assessment tool that rates perceived workload, to gather data on the participants\u2019 workload perceptions.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EPaula Gomez, a GTRI senior research engineer who led the development of the project\u2019s research methodology, said it was rewarding bringing the theoretical aspects of this project into practical application.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u201cSince GTRI is the applied research arm of Georgia Tech, it is really important for us to have access to a real-world environment to test and validate the theoretical research,\u201d Gomez said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EGTRI conducted this study with Dr. Michael Fundora, a pediatric cardiologist at Children\u2019s who specializes in congenital heart disease and clinical research, and Christina Calamaro, the Director of Nursing \u0026amp; Allied Health Research and Evidence Based Practice at Children\u2019s and an associate professor at Emory\u2019s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EFundora and Calamaro noted that current data collection methods that examine healthcare worker burnout are done retroactively and may miss certain nuances that are crucial for developing a comprehensive understanding of the issue.\u003Cspan\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cA lot of the literature that\u0027s been done in this area looks at big data sets that, for the most part, aren\u2019t in real time\u201d said Calamaro. \u201cThis is one study that\u2019s able to quantify what are the factors that may impact care at the current time and can set the stage, with the use of technology, for giving us a better measurement of what issues nurses and physicians are facing, versus going back and doing a secondary analysis of big data.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile burnout is commonly perceived as just affecting those experiencing it, if left unchecked, it could also lead to diminished patient care and higher mortality rates, said Fundora.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cPeople talk about burnout in the sense that it\u0027s about the individual, and that\u0027s certainly important,\u201d Fundora said. \u201cBut we conducted this study to understand how burnout also affects our patients because that\u0027s the only way I believe that we\u0027re going to get to the root of the problem.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ENow that the data has been the collected, it will be analyzed and interpreted before potential solutions are evaluated. The team agreed that the interdisciplinary nature of the study will help them generate more impactful solutions.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAs a physician, working on this study opened my eyes to everything I didn\u2019t know about nurses \u2013 they are operating very sophisticated, complex equipment and nearly everything they do in the ICU has a life-or-death impact,\u201d said Fundora. \u201cThe solution-oriented approach of GTRI also gave me a fresh perspective.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ECalamaro added: \u201cI think every healthcare study should have an engineer involved in some way because they see things that we as healthcare professionals don\u2019t. It\u0027s like, I never thought of that.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EWriter: Anna Akins\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cspan\u003EPhotos: Sean McNeil\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cspan\u003EGTRI Communications\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cspan\u003EGeorgia Tech Research Institute\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cspan\u003EAtlanta, Georgia\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EThe \u003C\/span\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/gtri.gatech.edu\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI)\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E is the nonprofit, applied research division of the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech).\u202fFounded in 1934 as the Engineering Experiment Station, GTRI has grown to more than 2,900 employees, supporting eight laboratories in over 20 locations around the country and performing more than $940\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cspan\u003Emillion of problem-solving research annually for government and industry.\u202fGTRI\u0027s renowned researchers combine science, engineering, economics, policy, and technical expertise to solve complex problems for the U.S. federal government, state, and industry.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EHealthcare professionals and researchers from \u003C\/span\u003EGeorgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), Children\u2019s Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory University\u2019s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing have conducted a study using wearable sensors to better understand how the interplay of workload, stress, and sleep contribute\u00ad\u00ad to an elevated risk of burnout among healthcare workers and how to mitigate those risks going forward.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Research collaboration between GTRI, Children\u2019s Healthcare of Atlanta, and Emory University are conducting studies using wearable sensors to better understand burnout among healthcare works and how to mitigate those risks going forward."}],"uid":"35832","created_gmt":"2023-12-15 13:27:58","changed_gmt":"2023-12-15 13:46:17","author":"Michelle Gowdy","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2023-12-15T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2023-12-15T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"672600":{"id":"672600","type":"image","title":"GTRI and CHOA Research Team","body":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe team leading this project includes, from left to right: GTRI Senior Research Scientist Khatereh Hadi, Children\u0027s pediatric cardiologist Dr. Michael Fundora, GTRI Senior Research Engineer Paula Gomez, GTRI Senior Research Scientist Matthew Swarts, and Children\u0027s Director of Nursing \u0026amp; Allied Health Research and Evidence Based Practice Christina Calamaro, who is also an associate professor at Emory\u2019s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing (Photo Credit: Sean McNeil, GTRI).\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","created":"1702646323","gmt_created":"2023-12-15 13:18:43","changed":"1702646538","gmt_changed":"2023-12-15 13:22:18","alt":"GTRI and CHOA Research Team","file":{"fid":"255871","name":"2023_1116_image_CIPHER_CHOA Sensor_13.JPG","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/12\/15\/2023_1116_image_CIPHER_CHOA%20Sensor_13.JPG","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/12\/15\/2023_1116_image_CIPHER_CHOA%20Sensor_13.JPG","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1886715,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2023\/12\/15\/2023_1116_image_CIPHER_CHOA%20Sensor_13.JPG?itok=nEJyK5k8"}},"672601":{"id":"672601","type":"image","title":"Wearable Healthcare Sensor","body":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EA close-up of the tags and sensors that were used to measure stress, workload and sleep among the study participants (Photo Credit: Sean McNeil, GTRI).\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","created":"1702646632","gmt_created":"2023-12-15 13:23:52","changed":"1702646771","gmt_changed":"2023-12-15 13:26:11","alt":"Wearable Healthcare Sensor","file":{"fid":"255874","name":"2023_1116_image_CIPHER_CHOA Sensor_10.JPG","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/12\/15\/2023_1116_image_CIPHER_CHOA%20Sensor_10.JPG","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/12\/15\/2023_1116_image_CIPHER_CHOA%20Sensor_10.JPG","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":898750,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2023\/12\/15\/2023_1116_image_CIPHER_CHOA%20Sensor_10.JPG?itok=jJDj-TPi"}}},"media_ids":["672600","672601"],"groups":[{"id":"1276","name":"Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI)"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"138","name":"Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics"},{"id":"42901","name":"Community"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"416","name":"GTRI"},{"id":"365","name":"Research"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"166902","name":"science and technology"},{"id":"341","name":"innovation"},{"id":"1129","name":"healthcare"},{"id":"193359","name":"healthcare works"},{"id":"2305","name":"Emory University"},{"id":"166852","name":"CHOA"},{"id":"193360","name":"Children\u2019s Healthcare of Atlanta"},{"id":"10442","name":"Wearable Sensors"},{"id":"398","name":"health"},{"id":"193361","name":"human condition"},{"id":"179852","name":"work stress"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E(Interim) Director of Communications\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EMichelle Gowdy\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EMichelle.Gowdy@gtri.gatech.edu\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E404-407-8060\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["michelle.gowdy@gtri.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}