Clinician engagement and Training on an Electronically Controlled Gravity Feed Infusion set as a precursor for clinical studies

Abstract

User training is an important aspect in the implementation of medical technology to facilitate the safe use of new medical devices yet it is an ignored field in many settings especially resource limited settings. Carrying out clinical studies on new medical technology without end user training could compromise patients’ and clinicians’ safety, take up a lot of clinicians’ time learning on the job and negatively affect study results. The purpose of this paper is to present results of the training, clinician engagement and usability tests on the ECGF device. Clinician and hospital technician training on the Electronically Controlled Gravity Feed (ECGF) infusion set device was carried out at Mulago National Referral Hospital as a precursor to clinical validation. 19 clinicians were trained and their feedback was collected through group discussions and structured questionnaires. Training improved user understanding and set-up of the ECGF, most clinicians found the ECGF to be user friendly, safe for use with the potential to simplify their work, to save time and improve on patient safety. It also provided in-valuable feedback for re-design specifically color and alarm audibility.