Developing a system model for a software application to assess the cognitive work ability of nurses

With the aging of the population and a worldwide shortage of staff, nursing is faced with the issue of retaining workers and ensuring that nurses are fit for work. Work ability is one way of determining how well a person can meet the demands of his or her work. However, limitations in the work ability index led to the proposal of cognitive work ability (CWA). Instead of relying on subjective questionnaires, this study proposes a conceptual design for a software application that can be used to assess CWA among nurses using an intensive care unit simulation. The systems development life cycle and applied cognitive task analysis were used to translate CWA elements and nursing processes obtained from interviews into design guidelines. A system model for a software capable of simulation, data collection and validation of the CWA model was produced with recommendations for implementation, testing and metric formulation.