MacroErgonomics Safety and Health Laboratory

Research

Current Projects — Principal Investigator and Co-Principal Investigator
Current Projects — Karsh Co-Investigator
Past Projects — Karsh Principal Investigator
Past Projects — Karsh Co-Investigator

Current Projects — Principal Investigator and Co-Principal Investigator

• Proactive risk assessment of primary care of the elderly
• Funding: AHRQ, (1P20HS017115-01), $199,147
• Dates: 9/01/07–8/31/08
• Description: The purpose of this study is to identify and analyze safety hazards in the primary care of the elderly, with special attention to electronic medical records (EMR).
  
  

• The value of CPOE in pediatric inpatient units and its impact on safety and work
• Funding: NIH-NLM, (1R01LM008923-01A1), $1,017,723
• Dates: 8/01/07–7/31/09
• Description: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of a bi-directional interface between CPOE and pharmacy information systems on medication errors and workflow in pediatric inpatient units.
  
  

• Modeling the likelihood of violating medication error reduction protocols in hospitals: implications for work and information technology design
  • Funding: UW Graduate School, $31,470
  • Dates: 7/01/07–6/30/08
  • Description: The purpose of this study is to determine the causes of medication administration safety protocol violations and examine how the causes changes when information technology is used for administering medications.
    
    

• Bar Coding and Employee and Patient Safety
  • Funding: AHRQ, $1,367,958
  • Dates: 9/01/03-2/28/07
  • Description: The purpose of this study is to uncover the impacts of bar coded medication dispensing and administration in pediatric hospitals on medication errors and working conditions. Both the treatment hospital and the matched control hospital will undergo four rounds of data collection in which outcomes will include medication errors, work system structure and process, and employee perceptions of working conditions and technology.
    
    
• Nursing, technologies and medication management: new multidimensional measures of cost and quality
  • Funding: Robert Woods Johnson Foundation, $300,000
  • Dates: 6/1/07-5/31/09
  • Co-Principal Investigators: Pascale Carayon and Mary Ellen Murray
  • Description: The purpose of this research proposal is to develop new measures of nursing contributions to medication management quality in the face of a growing number of medication management health information technologies (MMHIT). The focus is on adult and pediatric intensive care nurses.

Current Projects - Karsh Co-Investigator

• Custom computerized home care for cardiac patients
  • Funding: NLM, $1,870,000
  • Dates: 5/15/04-5/14/08
  • Principal Investigator: Patricia Brennan
  • Description: The purposes of this study are to study the work of home care nurses that care for congestive heart failure patients, design technologies to support their care processes, and test the efficacy of these technologies on improving the care giver work and patient outcomes.
    
    
• PhD Training in Population Health & Quality Improvement
  • Funding: AHRQ, $920,036
  • Dates: 2003-2008
  • Principal Investigator: Dennis Fryback
  • Description: This training grant is used to train PhD students in population health and
    healthcare quality improvement and is a collaboration between population
    health scientists and industrial engineering faculty.
    

Past Projects - Karsh Principal Investigator

• Macroergonomic Work Analysis for Diagnostic Testing Process Improvement
  • Funding: Medical College of Wisconsin, $57,000
  • Dates: 5/01/02-8/31/03
  • Description: The purpose of the study was to utilize macroergonomic work analysis methods to study the current state of diagnostic testing ordering, processing, and dissemination methods in a set of 30 clinics of a health care organization in order to develop systems-based recommendations for improving the processes.

• Development of a medical safety reporting system in primary care settings
  • Funding: UW University-Industry Relations, $30,000
  • Dates: 7/01/01-6/30/02
  • Description: The purpose of this study was to uncover the barriers and motivators to the design of a usable and useful medical error reporting system. Results highlighted a number of critical legal, administrative, architectural, workflow, communication, training, and implementation issues.

• Organizational culture and job satisfaction among family physicians
  • Funding: Wisconsin Academy of Family Physicians / Center for Quality and Productivity Improvement, $10,000
  • Dates: 3/01/00-2/28/02
  • Description: The purpose of this study was to examine, among family physicians, the relationship between working conditions, job satisfaction and turnover intentions.

Past Projects - Karsh Co-Investigator

• Medication error reduction, technologies and human factors
  • Funding: AHRQ, $460,531
  • Dates: 10/01/03-9/30/05
  • Principal Investigator: Pascale Carayon
  • Description: The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of smart IV pumps integrated with bar coded medication administration technology on medication errors and employee working conditions.
    
    
• Medication error: Prospective hazard and improvement analysis
  • Funding: United Kingdom Department of Health, $125,158
  • Dates: 10/01/03-5/30/04
  • Principal Investigator: Jon Karnon
  • Description: The purpose of this study is to utilize prospective hazard analysis methods to develop risk estimates for medications errors for adults with depression and heart disease.

• Developmental Center for Evaluation and Research on Patient Safety-Systems Engineering Wisconsin Patient Safety
  • Funding: AHRQ, $639,153
  • Dates: 10/01/01-9/30/04
  • Principal Investigator: Pascale Carayon
  • Description: The project aims at the development of a multidisciplinary Developmental Center for Evaluation and Research in Patient Safety (DCERPS) applying the systems engineering, human factors engineering, and industrial engineering approaches to patient safety, health care worker safety, and medical errors reduction.

• Quality Improvement in Nursing Homes
  • Funding: AHRQ
  • Dates: 4/1/98-3/31/00
  • Principal Investigator: Francois Sainfort
  • Description: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between work system predictor variables (job characteristics, organizational structure and culture, quality improvement) and outcomes such as employee turnover, quality of care, job satisfaction and commitment, among over 6000 nursing home employees.

• Development and validation of multimedia videotape job analysis for physical stress factors associated with musculoskeletal disorders
  • Funding: United Auto Workers / Daimler-Chrysler
  • Dates: 6/15/99-6/14/02
  • Principal Investigator: Robert Radwin
  • Description: The purpose of this study was to collect data on physical risk factors and musculoskeletal injuries in automobile manufacturing so that the risk of injury could be modeled.

• Wisconsin Production Agriculture Intervention Evaluation
  • Funding: NIOSH , $216,000
  • Dates: 9/1/99-7/26/01
  • Principal Investigator: Larry Chapman
  • Description: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of public relations interventions to promote safer and more profitable farming technology among dairy farmers and model the predictors of technology adoption.

• Wisconsin Community Partners for Health Farmers Intervention
  • Funding: NIOSH
  • Dates: 8/1/99-7/26/01
  • Principal Investigator: Larry Chapman
  • Description: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of public relations interventions to promote safer and more profitable farming technology among vegetable farmers and model the predictors of technology adoption.

• Medication use, and occupational injury: a case-control study
  • Funding: Schering-Plough ITG, $224,631
  • Dates: 7/1/97-6/30/99
  • Principal Investigator: Michael J. Smith
  • Description: The purpose of this study was to determine whether the use of drowsing medications among the populations of industrial workers increased their risk of acute occupational injuries.