Operating Room Black Box (ORBB): Examining Nurses’ Perceptions in a Surgical Setting

BackgroundDespite numerous efforts to improve surgical safety, adverse events and serious surgical complications are still common. This cross-sectional study at a tertiary hospital in Ontario, Canada, aimed to examine nurses' perceptions, awareness, comfort, and readiness to use Operating Room Black Box (ORBB) technology, implemented to reduce surgical errors.MethodsA mixed method was used and data was collected through a 14-item questionnaire in summer 2022.ResultsAmong 50 nurse participants, nurses with work experience <20 years had higher overall mean scores on 9 questions than nurses working >20 years. The majority (88.0%) had no prior ORBB experience but somewhat agreed that ORBB had the potential to improve the safety culture in the operating room.ConclusionOverall, nurses demonstrated positive attitudes towards ORBB technology, indicating its potential to enhance safety culture, team communication, teamwork, situational awareness, feedback on performance, the debriefing process, transparency, and lead to technological advancements in healthcare.