Monitoring patient vital signs is one of many important tasks for health care professionals in intensive care units and anaesthesia departments. Patient status can deteriorate in seconds, hence close surveillance is requisite for safe care. However, monitoring vital signs can be challenging in some situations. Smart glasses have been suggested for facilitating the monitoring of vital signs. To be useful, smart glasses require a customised application and must be integrated in the interacting work system. A work system comprises Person(s), Tasks, Technology and Tools, Organisation, and Environment. The work system affects care processes and outcomes, and one outcome is patient safety. 

The overall aim of this thesis was to investigate health care professionals’ views on and experiences of smart glasses, as well as whether smart glasses could influence patient safety in complex care environments. Five studies were conducted to answer the overall aim. A scoping review compiled previous research about smart glasses in complex care environments (Study I). Through focus group interviews, health care professionals’ views on smart glasses were collected (Studies II and III). Software developers used the knowledge generated to develop a smart glass application for vital signs monitoring. In individual interviews health care professionals shared their experiences’ using smart glasses for vital signs monitoring during clinical anaesthesia care (Study V). A database study was also conducted to describe burden of care related to monitoring (Study IV). The results were synthesised using SEIPS 2.0. 

The results presented in this thesis show that smart glasses can be used to monitor vital signs, and that they made it possible to monitor vital signs regardless of location. However, using smart glasses for vital signs monitoring requires further development to meet clinical needs. The complexity of care in intensive care units and at anaesthesia departments was evident, as were health care professionals’ responsibilities and their commitment to providing safe care for patients. 

This thesis concludes that adding smart glasses to the work system will affect other components of the work system and hence also processes and outcomes such as patient safety. Providing safe care for patients in complex care environments is challenging. The patient’s best is health care professionals’ highest priority, hence health care professionals are an asset for patient safety. To have positive impact on patient safety, new tools such as smart glasses must be designed to fit into the rest of the work system and to facilitate health care professionals’ work processes.