P-235 Use of the Nominal Group Technique to Specify Unsafe Driving Behaviour While Commuting Among Hospital Nurses

Abstract Introduction Commuting possesses unique characteristics in the context of the nursing profession that potentially influence driving behaviour. These characteristics include familiarity, complacency, error-proneness and mind-wandering. Yet, validated scales incorporating these characteristics are still lacking. Before a novel and culturally adapted scale could be developed, stakeholders should be consulted to specify dimensions as guided by relevant theories. This study demonstrated how stakeholders including traffic safety policymakers, practitioners, academicians and nurses were consulted to specify the dimensions. Methods This study employed two sessions of the Nominal Group Technique (NGT). A total of 19 mixed-group participants were involved. A four-step sequential protocol was used for collecting participants’ key ideas on how a nurse drives when experiencing poor physical or mental wellbeing while commuting to work: 1) silent idea generation, 2) round-robin collection, 3) idea clarification, and 4) ranking. Similar ideas were clustered and coded with an appropriate group theme. Results A total of six themes emerged based on the 107 keywords generated. The themes are as follows: (1) drowsy driving (2) violation and risky driving (3) negative emotions (4) mind-wandering (5) carelessness, and (6) non-vigilance error. Discussion In light of these findings, these themes can be used to develop a novel scale to assess nurses’ unsafe driving behaviours while commuting. Conclusion The scale can be adapted to other group of healthcare workers and different cultures. Additionally, the survey can be used to measure the effectiveness of educational interventions aimed at reducing unsafe driving behaviours. Keywords: nominal group, unsafe driving, nurses, commuting