Exploring Factors Influencing Nursing Task Prioritization for Supportive Information System Design: Qualitative Study With Thematic Analysis

Abstract Background Nurses are required to perform multiple tasks concurrently, which leads to multitasking situations, and they have to continuously determine which tasks should be prioritized. This is particularly challenging for novice nurses. Although IT-based systems supporting prioritization have begun to emerge, research on the types of information required when prioritization is processed computationally is scant. Despite the clear need for a supportive information system to assist nursing task prioritization, such systems are not yet sufficiently developed. Objective This study aimed to explore the appropriate granularity and structure of information that should be provided to computational systems to support decision-making based on the influencing factors of nursing task prioritization. Methods Semistructured interviews were conducted with 10 nurses working in general wards to examine the factors they consider when determining task prioritization during clinical practice. Data were analyzed using an inductive, semantic approach based on a thematic analysis framework. Results Three themes and nine categories including (1) medical condition assessment factors (signs of acute physiological changes and indicators of clinical status and conditions), (2) patient-related nursing care factors (physical status, psychological condition, and personal characteristics; care needs during hospitalization; and treatment goals and care preferences), and (3) organizational and operational work factors (temporally structured tasks, requiring collaboration partners for task execution, environmental factors affecting task performance, and institutional- and ward-level policies) were identified. Conclusions Analysis of computational tractability of the identified factors indicated that medical condition assessment factors are relatively quantifiable. In contrast, patient-centered care and organizational and operational work factors rely on contextual and experiential judgment, limiting standardization and formalization. Regarding such ambiguous and context-dependent elements, flexible information-processing approaches, such as large language models, in addition to conventional rule-based methods, may be effective. Furthermore, the appropriate level of information granularity should be determined by the nature of the prioritization outputs required in actual nursing practice rather than the degree of abstraction itself.