Comparison of two user interfaces for accessing context-specific information resources related to hazards and near misses.

The Hazard and Near Miss Reporting System (HNMRS) was designed to promote patient safety mindfulness as part of a patient safety curriculum for Advanced Practice Nursing (APN) students. We are extending the functionality of the system beyond reporting to Just-in-Time learning by providing context-specific links to internal and external information resources related to the type of hazard or near miss reported. As part of this process, 55 APN nursing students compared two different interfaces on ease of use and reported their perceptions of usefulness and intention to use the information resources links integrated into the HNMRS. The students demonstrated a significant preference for the Category-based Interface as compared to the Question-based Interface (p<.001). Mean scores for perceptions of usefulness and intention to use the context-specific links in the HNMRS for reference purposes reflected moderate to strong agreement.