Understanding Clinician Macrocognition to Inform the Design of a Congenital Heart Disease Clinical Decision Support System

Background and ObjectivesChildren with congenital heart disease (CHD) are at risk of deterioration in the face of common childhood illnesses, and their resuscitation and acute treatment requires guidance of CHD experts. Many children with CHD, however, present to their local emergency departments (E...

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Main Authors: Azadeh Assadi, Peter C. Laussen, Gabrielle Freire, Patricia Trbovich
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2022-02-01
Series:Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcvm.2022.767378/full
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author Azadeh Assadi
Azadeh Assadi
Peter C. Laussen
Peter C. Laussen
Peter C. Laussen
Gabrielle Freire
Patricia Trbovich
Patricia Trbovich
Patricia Trbovich
author_facet Azadeh Assadi
Azadeh Assadi
Peter C. Laussen
Peter C. Laussen
Peter C. Laussen
Gabrielle Freire
Patricia Trbovich
Patricia Trbovich
Patricia Trbovich
author_sort Azadeh Assadi
collection DOAJ
description Background and ObjectivesChildren with congenital heart disease (CHD) are at risk of deterioration in the face of common childhood illnesses, and their resuscitation and acute treatment requires guidance of CHD experts. Many children with CHD, however, present to their local emergency departments (ED) with gastrointestinal and respiratory symptoms that closely mimic symptoms of CHD related heart failure. This can lead to incorrect or delayed diagnosis and treatment where CHD expertise is limited. An understanding of the differences in cognitive decision-making processes between CHD experts and ED physicians can inform how best to support ED physicians when treating CHD patients.MethodsCardiac intensivists (CHD experts) and pediatric emergency department physicians (ED physicians) in a major academic cardiac center were interviewed using the critical decision method. Interview transcripts were coded deductively based on Schubert and Klein's macrocognitive frameworks and inductively to allow for new or modified characterization of dimensions.ResultsIn total, 6 CHD experts and 7 ED physicians were interviewed for this study. Although both CHD experts and ED physicians spent a lot of time sensemaking, their approaches to sensemaking differed. CHD experts reported readily recognizing the physiology of complex congenital heart disease and focused primarily on ruling out cardiac causes for the presenting illness. ED physicians reported a delay in attributing the signs and symptoms of the presenting illness to congenital heart disease, because these clinical findings were often non-specific, and thus explored different diagnoses. CHD experts moved quickly to treatment and more time anticipating potential problems and making specific contingency plans, while ED physicians spent more time gathering a range of data prior to arriving at a diagnosis. These findings were then applied to develop a prototype web-based decision support application for patients with CHD.ConclusionThere are differences in the cognitive processes used by CHD experts and ED physicians when managing CHD patients. An understanding of differences in the cognitive processes used by CHD experts and ED physicians can inform the development of potential interventions, such as clinical decision support systems and training pathways, to support decision making pertaining to the acute treatment of pediatric CHD patients.
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spelling doaj.art-dca0d12ce17b4069b20c5d570775c93d2022-12-21T20:05:18ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine2297-055X2022-02-01910.3389/fcvm.2022.767378767378Understanding Clinician Macrocognition to Inform the Design of a Congenital Heart Disease Clinical Decision Support SystemAzadeh Assadi0Azadeh Assadi1Peter C. Laussen2Peter C. Laussen3Peter C. Laussen4Gabrielle Freire5Patricia Trbovich6Patricia Trbovich7Patricia Trbovich8Department of Critical Care Medicine, Labatt Family Heart Centre, Toronto, ON, CanadaDepartment of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, CanadaInstitute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, CanadaExecutive Vice President for Health Affairs, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, United StatesHarvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United StatesDivision of Emergency Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, CanadaDepartment of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, CanadaInstitute of Health Policy Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, CanadaResearch and Innovation, North York General Hospital, Toronto, ON, CanadaBackground and ObjectivesChildren with congenital heart disease (CHD) are at risk of deterioration in the face of common childhood illnesses, and their resuscitation and acute treatment requires guidance of CHD experts. Many children with CHD, however, present to their local emergency departments (ED) with gastrointestinal and respiratory symptoms that closely mimic symptoms of CHD related heart failure. This can lead to incorrect or delayed diagnosis and treatment where CHD expertise is limited. An understanding of the differences in cognitive decision-making processes between CHD experts and ED physicians can inform how best to support ED physicians when treating CHD patients.MethodsCardiac intensivists (CHD experts) and pediatric emergency department physicians (ED physicians) in a major academic cardiac center were interviewed using the critical decision method. Interview transcripts were coded deductively based on Schubert and Klein's macrocognitive frameworks and inductively to allow for new or modified characterization of dimensions.ResultsIn total, 6 CHD experts and 7 ED physicians were interviewed for this study. Although both CHD experts and ED physicians spent a lot of time sensemaking, their approaches to sensemaking differed. CHD experts reported readily recognizing the physiology of complex congenital heart disease and focused primarily on ruling out cardiac causes for the presenting illness. ED physicians reported a delay in attributing the signs and symptoms of the presenting illness to congenital heart disease, because these clinical findings were often non-specific, and thus explored different diagnoses. CHD experts moved quickly to treatment and more time anticipating potential problems and making specific contingency plans, while ED physicians spent more time gathering a range of data prior to arriving at a diagnosis. These findings were then applied to develop a prototype web-based decision support application for patients with CHD.ConclusionThere are differences in the cognitive processes used by CHD experts and ED physicians when managing CHD patients. An understanding of differences in the cognitive processes used by CHD experts and ED physicians can inform the development of potential interventions, such as clinical decision support systems and training pathways, to support decision making pertaining to the acute treatment of pediatric CHD patients.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcvm.2022.767378/fulldecision supportcongenital heart disease - cardiacmacrocognitioncognitive task analysisdigital health (eHealth)emergency medicine (MeSH database)
spellingShingle Azadeh Assadi
Azadeh Assadi
Peter C. Laussen
Peter C. Laussen
Peter C. Laussen
Gabrielle Freire
Patricia Trbovich
Patricia Trbovich
Patricia Trbovich
Understanding Clinician Macrocognition to Inform the Design of a Congenital Heart Disease Clinical Decision Support System
Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine
decision support
congenital heart disease - cardiac
macrocognition
cognitive task analysis
digital health (eHealth)
emergency medicine (MeSH database)
title Understanding Clinician Macrocognition to Inform the Design of a Congenital Heart Disease Clinical Decision Support System
title_full Understanding Clinician Macrocognition to Inform the Design of a Congenital Heart Disease Clinical Decision Support System
title_fullStr Understanding Clinician Macrocognition to Inform the Design of a Congenital Heart Disease Clinical Decision Support System
title_full_unstemmed Understanding Clinician Macrocognition to Inform the Design of a Congenital Heart Disease Clinical Decision Support System
title_short Understanding Clinician Macrocognition to Inform the Design of a Congenital Heart Disease Clinical Decision Support System
title_sort understanding clinician macrocognition to inform the design of a congenital heart disease clinical decision support system
topic decision support
congenital heart disease - cardiac
macrocognition
cognitive task analysis
digital health (eHealth)
emergency medicine (MeSH database)
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcvm.2022.767378/full
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