An investigation of cognitive failures and its related factors in industry employees in Qom Province, Iran, in 2016

Background: Cognitive failure is mental lapses in perception, attention, memory, and action. It occurs during routine tasks that one would usually have no difficulty in successfully completing. Cognitive performance is influenced by conditions and some individual and job characteristics and the identification of factors that affect human performance is essential to prevent human error. The purpose of this study was to evaluate cognitive failures and identify individual and job related factors in industry employees. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 173 employees of an industry in Qom Province in Central Iran in 2016. The demographic information were collected via interviews and related questionnaires. Moreover, cognitive failures were assessed using the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ). Data analysis was performed using factor analysis, t-test, Pearson correlation, and multiple linear regressions. Results: Factor analysis showed that cognitive failures have three domains (memory, attention, and action). Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the whole questionnaire was 0.89. The mean ± SD score of cognitive failures in the study group was 1.07 ± 0.55. The statistical analysis of the data revealed that there was a significant correlation between smoking, chronic disease, and work experience and cognitive failures (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Cognitive failures have a multi-dimensional structure and these dimensions have an integral relationship. It seems that chronic disease, smoking, and work experience cause an increase in the risk of cognitive failures, but this issue requires further and more comprehensive studies.