An Ethogram to Quantify Operating Room Behavior

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Laura K. Jones, Emory University; Bonnie Jennings, Emory University; Ryan M. Goelz, Emory Healthcare Surgical Services; Kent W. Haythorn, Emory University; Joel Zivot, Emory University; Frans De Waal, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2016-08-01
• Publisher: Springer Verlag (Germany)
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2016, The Society of Behavioral Medicine.
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12160-016-9773-0
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Annals of Behavioral Medicine
• ISSN: 0883-6612
• Volume: 50
• Issue: 4
• Start Page: 487
• End Page: 496
• Grant/Funding Information: This research was supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UL1TR000454.; This research was also supported by grant number R03 HS23403-01 and its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
• Keywords: LEADERSHIP; COMMUNICATION; Worksite health; Health services research; Psychology, Multidisciplinary; ERRORS; LITIGATION; ETHNOGRAPHY; SURGEONS MANAGING-CONFLICT; ETHOLOGICAL RESEARCH; Social Sciences; Psychology; Health communication; PATTERNS; CHIMPANZEES; PSYCHIATRY
• Research Categories: Psychology, Behavioral; Health Sciences, General; Health Sciences, Medicine and Surgery

Abstract

Background: The operating room (OR) is a highly social and hierarchical setting where interprofessional team members must work interdependently under pressure. Due primarily to methodological challenges, the social and behavioral sciences have had trouble offering insight into OR dynamics. Purpose: We adopted a method from the field of ethology for observing and quantifying the interpersonal interactions of OR team members. Methods: We created and refined an ethogram, a catalog of all our subjects’ observable social behaviors. The ethogram was then assessed for its feasibility and interobserver reliability. Results: It was feasible to use an ethogram to gather data in the OR. The high interobserver reliability (Cohen’s Kappa coefficients of 81 % and higher) indicates its utility for yielding largely objective, descriptive, quantitative data on OR behavior. Conclusions: The method we propose has potential for social research conducted in healthcare settings as complex as the OR.