Critical Incident Technique applied in nursing and healthcare sciences

Abstract

the development and current status of the CIT, with focus on its fundamental definitions, guidelines, and pros and cons when applied in nursing and healthcare sciences. BackgroundLike all qualitative methods, CIT has an established history, which in this case goes back to World War II. The psychologist John Flanagan was the head of the military aviation psychology programmer and studied pilot behavior in connection with critical incidents that arose in aviation missions during training or battle against the enemy. An unacceptably large number of pilots failed in their missions, which is why his interest was partly directed at studying the pilots' experiences of critical incidents (descriptions) and partly at observing what steps they took to handle them (actions). Flanagan analyzed the critical incident after success or failure by "working backwards" -retrospectively, which means studying what has already happened afterwards -to thereby identify the specific behavior that led to a positive or negative result (outcome or consequence). In terms of data collection, it is a matter of supporting or getting the participant to remember and describe real incidents, and not how things could have been or turned out. In other words, it is about the participant's "real" and experienced world. There are accordingly two focuses behind CIT: the researcher intends to identify the participant's capacity based on his/her actions in the critical incident and to determine whether the consequence of the actions constitute a significantpositive or negative -contribution [8,9]. MethodA theoretical reasoning based on the original literature and with the support of updated literature relevant to the CIT was used in order to describe, explain, compare, reflect and implicate the development of CIT. Concepts and terminology developmentFlanagan established the concept of CIT, but over the years, several other terms have been used both in and outside of nursing, such as "Critical Incident Analysis", "Critical Incident Reflection", "Critical Incident Exercise" and "Significant Event Technique" [3,10,11]. There are probably many reasons why the terminology has changed over the years, but one crucial reason AbstractPurpose: The aim of this study was to elucidate the development and current status of the critical incident technique (CIT), with focus on its fundamental definitions, guidelines, and pros and cons when applied in nursing and healthcare sciences. Method:A theoretical reasoning based on the original literature and with the support of updated literature relevant to the CIT was used. Results:A critical incident is a retrospective story generating an activity, a behaviour which, due to its retrospective perspective, can only be deemed critical in hindsight. The incident is critical if there is a major human activity which is sufficient to allow conclusions and predictions. The story has a clear beginning and a clear end, and its impact needs to be clear with a significant outcome, either positively or negatively. The CIT-procedure, still...

Continuous glucose monitoring in adults with type 1 diabetes: A balance between benefits and barriers: A critical incident study

“…However, most participants shared rich descriptions of both positive and negative situations, which may suggest that participants with a wide range of experiences were included. Second, as CIT collects information about a past event, one limitation may be the ability of the participant to remember a critical incident fully and correctly, thus affecting credibility and trustworthiness (Fridlund et al, ). One participant did not give full descriptions of all situations, and another had not used CGM for 2 years.…”

“…The critical incident technique (CIT), as described by Flanagan (), is a process whereby important facts about human behaviour within defined situations are collected. A critical incident is defined as a situation that is important in that it affects the behaviour of those involved in either a positive or negative way (Fridlund, Henricson, & Mårtensson, ). One very important aspect of this method is the informant's ability to recall situations, as well as the researcher's ability to assist the informant in describing the situation in as much detail as possible (Schluter, Seaton, & Chaboyer, ).…”

“…What were your feelings at the time and how have you viewed this incident since it occurred? (Fridlund et al, ). Two test interviews were conducted initially to make sure that the questions yielded meaningful situations in line with the aim of the study.…”

“…The analysis was performed in accordance with the development of CIT, as described by Fridlund et al (), in which situations were divided into what the participants experienced as meaningful (experiences), and the steps they subsequently took in response (actions). Even if the analyses were dependent on one another and were carried out at the same time, this entailed two different data analyses with corresponding associated result descriptions.…”

Families in Paediatric Oncology Nursing: Critical Incidents From the Nurses' Perspective

“…The given assignment was based on a critical incident technique, which can be defined as a retrospective story generating behaviour, and it is critical if there is a major activity that is sufficient in allowing conclusions and predictions made by the person themselves. CIT, which focuses on real situations influenced by both intellectual and emotional causes, has become an appropriate qualitative method that is suitable for healthcare research (FitzGerald, Seale, Kerins & McElvaney, 2008;Friland, Henricson & Martenson 2017). The technique helps understand and identify the demanding and rewarding nature of looking after the families of children with cancer from the nurse's perspective in a new way.…”