Analysis of the current status and influencing factors of cognitive load of nurses in respiratory department in Shanghai tertiary hospital

Background At present, research on handover strategies from the perspective of cognitive load among nursing staff is still in its infancy both domestically and internationally. There are no reports on the handover strategies of nurses in the respiratory department, while the quality of nursing handover needs to be improved urgently. Therefore, this study investigates the current situation of cognitive load during handover among nurses in the respiratory department from the perspective of cognitive load, analyzes its influencing factors, and provides a basis for the implementation of handover strategies in the respiratory department. Methods A cluster random sampling method was adopted to select 161 respiratory nurses from 16 tertiary general hospitals within the administrative region of Shanghai from January to February 2025 for a questionnaire survey. The survey tools included the Different Cognitive Load Measurement Scale (MDT-CL), the NASA Task Load Index for Nurses (NASA-TLX), the Nurse Shift Handover Assessment Scale (NASR), the Perception of Electronic Handover System Scale (The perception of EHS), and the Adaptation Readiness of Electronic Handover System Scale (The adaptation readiness of EHS). Univariate and multiple linear regression analyses were used to analyze the influencing factors. Results A total of 161 valid questionnaires were collected. The MDT-CL score for shift handover among respiratory nurses was (65.96 ± 13.55), with an internal load of (6.14 ± 2.46), an external load of (5.65 ± 2.48), and a germane load of (7.65 ± 1.68). The results of multiple linear regression analysis indicated that educational background, different shift times, the number of critically ill patients cared for, the readiness to adapt to the electronic shift handover system, and a noisy working environment were factors influencing the internal, external, and relational cognitive loads of respiratory nurses during shift handover (P < 0.05). Conclusion The cognitive load of shift handover among respiratory nurses in tertiary hospitals in Shanghai is moderately high. Nursing managers can reduce the cognitive load of shift handover among respiratory nurses and improve the quality of nursing shift handover by encouraging educational attainment improvement, reasonable shift scheduling, training in core competencies and information skills, and environmental improvement.