Ambulance professionals' experiences of teamwork in the context of a team training programme - a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Teamwork in the context of ambulance services exhibits unique characteristics, as this environment involves a small core team that must adapt to a dynamic team structure that involves health care professionals and emergency services. It is essential to acquire a deeper understanding of how ambulance teams operate. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the experiences of ambulance professionals with teamwork and how they were influenced by the implementation of a team training programme. METHODS: A qualitative descriptive study was conducted involving ambulance professionals who took part in focus group interviews carried out both before and after the implementation of a team training program across seven ambulance stations within a Norwegian hospital trust. The data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis based on a deductive-inductive approach. RESULTS: Our analysis revealed 15 subthemes that characterised ambulance professionals' experiences with teamwork and a team training programme, which were organised according to the five main themes of team structure, communication, leadership, situation monitoring, and mutual support. Ambulance professionals' experiences ranged from the significance of team composition and interpersonal and professional relationships to their preferences regarding different communication styles and the necessity of team leaders within the ambulance service. The team training programme raised awareness of teamwork, while the adoption of teamwork tools was influenced by both individual and contextual factors. The Introduction/Identity, Situation, Background, Assessment and Recommendation (ISBAR) communication tool was identified as the most beneficial aspect of the programme due to its ease of use, which led to improvements in the structure and quality of consultations and information handover. CONCLUSIONS: This study documented the diverse characteristics and preferences associated with teamwork among ambulance professionals, emphasising the particular importance of proficient partnerships in this context. Participation in a team training programme was perceived as a valuable reminder of the significance of teamwork, thus providing a foundation for the enhancement of communication skills. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov-ID: NCT05244928.

Learning from patient safety incidents: The Green Cross method.

BACKGROUND: Hospitals can improve how they learn from patient safety incidents. The Green Cross method, a proactive reporting and learning method, is one strategy to meet this challenge. In it, nurses play a key role. However, describing its impact on learning from the users' perspective is important. AIM: This study aimed to describe nurses' experiences of learning from patient safety incidents before and 3 months after implementing the Green Cross method in a postanaesthesia care unit. STUDY DESIGN: A qualitative study with an inductive descriptive design with focus group interviews was conducted before and 3 months after implementing the Green Cross method to assess its impact. The data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. The study was conducted in a postanaesthesia care unit in a Norwegian hospital trust. RESULTS: Before implementing the Green Cross method, participants indicated limited openness and learning, including the subcategories 'Lack of openness hampers learning', 'Adverse events were taken seriously' and 'Insufficient visible improvements'. After implementing the Green Cross method, participants indicated the emergence of a learning environment, including the subcategories 'Transparency increases learning', 'Increased patient safety awareness' and 'Committed to quality improvements'. CONCLUSIONS: Implementing the Green Cross method in a postanaesthesia care unit positively impacted openness and nurses' patient safety awareness, which is crucial for learning and improving quality. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The Green Cross method could be useful for organizational learning and facilitating learning from patient safety incidents through transparency, discussion and involvement of nursing staff.

Green Cross method in a postanaesthesia care unit: a qualitative study of the healthcare professionals' experiences after 3 years, including the COVID-19 pandemic period.

OBJECTIVES: Unsafe medical care causes morbidity and mortality among the hospital patients. In a postanaesthesia care unit (PACU), increasing patient safety is a joint effort between different professions. The Green Cross (GC) method is a user-friendly incident reporting method that incorporates daily safety briefings to support healthcare professionals in their daily patient safety work. Thus, this study aimed to describe healthcare professionals' experiences with the GC method in a PACU setting 3 years after its implementation, including the period of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic's three waves. DESIGN: An inductive, descriptive qualitative study was conducted. The data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. SETTING: The study was conducted at a PACU of a university hospital in South-Eastern Norway. PARTICIPANTS: Five semistructured focus group interviews were conducted in March and April 2022. The informants (n=23) were PACU nurses (n=18) and collaborative healthcare professionals (n=5) including physicians, nurses and a pharmacist. RESULTS: The theme 'still active, but in need of revitalisation' was created, describing the healthcare professionals' experiences with the GC method, 3 years post implementation. The following five categories were found: 'continuing to facilitate open communication', 'expressing a desire for more interprofessional collaboration regarding improvements', 'increasing reluctance to report', 'downscaling due to the pandemic' and 'expressing a desire to share more of what went well'. CONCLUSIONS: This study offers information regarding the healthcare professionals' experiences with the GC method in a PACU setting; further, it deepens the understanding of the daily patient safety work using this incident reporting method.

Bachelor of nursing students' experiences of a longitudinal team training intervention and the use of teamwork skills in clinical practice-A qualitative descriptive study.

AIMS: To describe nursing students' experiences of a TeamSTEPPS® longitudinal team training program and the application of teamwork skills in clinical practice. DESIGN: A descriptive qualitative design. METHODS: Overall, 22 nursing students participated in six online focus group interviews after attending a TeamSTEPPS® team training program from their first semester. The data were audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed using inductive content analysis and reported following the COREQ guidelines. The focus group interviews took place in the students' fifth's semester. RESULTS: The main category "Learning teamwork is not an event; it's a journey" emerged from 3 generic categories and 12 subcategories. The participants reported that grasping the relevance of team training and the use of teamwork skills takes time. Utilizing these skills improved their awareness of being a team member and facilitated learning. CONCLUSION: Team training raised the participants' awareness of teamwork as an essential component of being a professional nurse. Additionally, understanding the complexity of teamwork takes time.

In situ simulation-based team training and its significance for transfer of learning to clinical practice-A qualitative focus group interview study of anaesthesia personnel.

BACKGROUND: Anaesthesia personnel are an integral part of an interprofessional operating room-team; hence, team-based training in non-technical skills (NTS) are important in preventing adverse events. Quite a few studies have been done on interprofessional in situ simulation-based team training (SBTT). However, research on anaesthesia personnel's experiences and the significance for transfer of learning to clinical practice is limited. The aim of this study is to explore anaesthesia personnel's experience from interprofessional in situ SBTT in NTS and its significance for transfer of learning to clinical practice. METHODS: Follow-up focus group interviews with anaesthesia personnel, who had taken part in interprofessional in situ SBTT were conducted. A qualitative inductive content analysis was performed. RESULTS: Anaesthesia personnel experienced that interprofessional in situ SBTT motivated transfer of learning and provided the opportunity to be aware of own practice regarding NTS and teamwork. One main category, 'interprofessional in situ SBTT as a contributor to enhance anaesthesia practice' and three generic categories, 'interprofessional in situ SBTT motivates learning and improves NTS', 'realism in SBTT is important for learning outcome', and 'SBTT increases the awareness of teamwork' illustrated their experiences. CONCLUSIONS: Participants in the interprofessional in situ SBTT gained experiences in coping with emotions and demanding situations, which could be significant for transfer of learning essential for clinical practice. Herein communication and decision-making were highlighted as important learning objectives. Furthermore, participants emphasized the importance of realism and fidelity and debriefing in the learning design.

Team training program's impact on medication administration, teamwork and patient safety culture in an ambulance service (TEAM-AMB): a longitudinal multimethod study protocol.

INTRODUCTION: Medication administration errors (MAEs) have the potential for significant patient harm, and the frequency of MAEs in the ambulance services is not well known. Effective teamwork is paramount for providing safe and effective patient care, especially in a time-sensitive, high-risk environment such as the ambulance services. Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety (TeamSTEPPS) is an evidence-based team training programme that, to our knowledge, has not been studied in the ambulance services previously. TeamSTEPPS is based on the five principles: team structure, communication, leadership, situation monitoring and mutual support. This study aims to advance the knowledge of the medication administration process in the ambulance services and study the impact of a team training programme on the frequency of MAEs, and the perception of teamwork, and patient safety culture. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This study uses a longitudinal multimethod design to evaluate medication administration and the implementation of the team training programme TeamSTEPPS in an ambulance service. A review of electronic patient journals 6 months prior to the intervention, and 12 months after the intervention will provide data on the frequency of MAEs. Focus group interviews and questionnaires will be carried out before and after the intervention to describe the perception of teamwork and patient safety culture among ambulance professionals. Observations, individual interviews and a review of guidelines will be conducted in the first and second quarters of 2022 to study the medication administration process in ambulance services. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study protocol was reviewed by the Regional Committees for Medical and Health Research Ethics Central Norway and approved by the Hospital Trust data protection officer, and the head of the Prehospital Division at the Hospital Trust. The data material will be managed confidentially and stored according to regulations. The results will be disseminated through scientific papers, reports, conference presentations, popular press, and social media. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT05244928.

Effectiveness of the advisory display SmartPilot® view in the assessment of anesthetic depth in low risk gynecological surgery patients: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Assessment of appropriate anesthetic depth is crucial to prevent harm to patients. Unnecessary deep anesthesia can be harmful, potentially causing acute renal failure, myocardial injury, delirium, and an increased mortality rate. Conversely, too light anesthesia combined with muscle relaxants can result in intraoperative patient awareness and lead to serious psychological trauma. This trial aimed to ascertain the effectiveness of the advisory display SmartPilot® View (SPV), as a supplemental measure in the assessment of anesthetic depth in low risk gynecological surgery patients. The hypothesis was that the use of the SPV would increase the precision of assessment, and result in a higher mean arterial pressure. METHODS: This trial used a randomized, controlled, single-blind design with a homogeneous sample. Patients undergoing minor, low risk gynecological surgery were randomly assigned to two groups: a test group wherein current standards were supplemented with the advisory display SPV and a control group assessed using only the current standards. Female patients aged between 18 and 75 years with American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status Classification System scores of 1-3 undergoing planned general anesthesia using the total intravenous anesthetic method, combining propofol and remifentanil, were included. The exclusion criteria included a body mass index ≥ 35 kg/m2, a history of alcoholism, drug intake affecting propofol and remifentanil dynamics, and inability to consent. The independent sample t-test and chi-square test or Fisher's exact test were used to assess the statistical significance of differences between the two groups. RESULTS: A total of 114 patients were included in the analysis (test group n = 58, control group n = 56). No significant differences in the mean arterial pressure, heart rate, bispectral index, extubation delay, or post-anesthesia care unit stay were found between groups. CONCLUSIONS: The addition of the advisory display SmartPilot® View to current standards in the evaluation of anesthetic depth had no significant effect on the outcome. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial was registered on January 16th 2019 with ClinicalTrials.gov (ref: NCT03807271 ).

Patients' Perceptions of Quality of Care: A Teamwork Intervention Study in a Surgical Ward.

INTRODUCTION: Improving teamwork competencies among health care professionals is important for patient safety. Few previous studies have investigated whether a teamwork intervention has an impact on patients' perceptions of quality of care. OBJECTIVE: To investigate patients' perceptions of quality of care before and after the implementation of a team training program in a surgical ward. METHODS: A quasi-experimental pre- and posttest design was used. The TeamSTEPPS® team training program was implemented in a surgical ward. Three groups of consecutively sampled patients responded to the Quality from the Patient's Perspective (QPP) questionnaire including four dimensions with 25 items. In addition to the QPP, six items were developed for this study. In total, 223 patients responded to the questionnaire. The mean age was 59.6 years, and there were 128 males and 94 females. RESULTS: The physical-technical condition dimension and four items showed significantly higher scores after six months of intervention. The majority of the patients scored quality of care in the four dimensions as very high at all three time points. Younger patients reported the lowest care quality. CONCLUSION: The results in this study indicate that the teamwork intervention had a minimal impact on the patients' perceptions of quality of care, with only significant differences between baseline and six months of intervention in one dimension and three items. At each data collection time point, the numbers of patients who perceived quality of care as modest decreased slightly. Younger patients were more likely to perceive care quality as modest.

Bachelor of nursing students' attitudes toward teamwork in healthcare: The impact of implementing a teamSTEPPS® team training program - A longitudinal, quasi-experimental study.

BACKGROUND: Teamwork skills are essential to the quality of care and patient safety; nevertheless, team training is limited in Bachelor of Nursing degree programs in Norway. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to explore the impact of implementing a TeamSTEPPS® team training intervention on Bachelor of Nursing students' attitudes toward teamwork in health care. DESIGN: A longitudinal quasi-experimental design with pre- and posttests was used. SETTINGS: One intervention group and one control group were recruited from two campuses at a Norwegian university offering a Bachelor of Nursing degree. PARTICIPANTS: Subjects were recruited from a population of 423 students. METHODS: For 26 months, the intervention group was exposed to the TeamSTEPPS® team training program with various learning activities to enhance teamwork skills. The intervention group and the control group responded to the Norwegian version of the TeamSTEPPS® Teamwork Attitude Questionnaire (T-TAQ) before the intervention (T0), after ten months (T1), and after 24 months (T2). The students participated in survey T0 and T1 was defined as Sample 1 and students participated in survey T0 and T2 was defined as Sample 2 The data were analyzed with parametric and nonparametric statistics. RESULTS: At T0 there was a significant difference between the intervention and control group. The intervention group showed a significant positive change in the Total T-TAQ score from T0 to T1 and from T0 to T2. The change in mean score differed significantly between the intervention and control group in favor of the intervention group. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that a team training program improved Bachelor of Nursing students' attitudes toward teamwork. Therefore, we recommend that the TeamSTEPPS® team training program be implemented in Bachelor of Nursing programs to facilitate a culture of teamwork.

Nurses' experience of incident reporting culture before and after implementing the Green Cross method: A quality improvement project.

BACKGROUND: Adverse events are a leading cause of death worldwide, although many are considered preventable. Incident reporting is a prerequisite for preventing adverse events; however, underreporting is common. The Green Cross method is an alternative incident reporting process that includes a daily team meeting to discuss incidents and work on improvements. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this quality improvement project was to improve the culture of incident reporting by implementing the Green Cross method and to evaluate the improvement by describing nurses' experience with the culture of incident reporting. METHODS: The project included a three-month implementation of the method in a postanesthesia care unit, which was evaluated by focus group interviews (n = 22 nurses) and analysed by qualitative content analysis. FINDINGS: Four focus group interviews were conducted before implementation (n = 19 nurses) and four after implementation (n = 16 nurses). Before implementation, Theme 1, "Incident reporting with potential for improvement", was constructed, describing a culture wherein nurses expressed motivation to report incidents but barriers, such as finding the system complicated and experiencing emotional obstacles towards reporting, prevented them. After implementation, Theme 2, "Increased focus on transparency", was constructed, describing a culture wherein nurses perceived an increased rate of incident reporting but still encountered barriers, such as finding reporting uncomfortable and demanding, experiencing a threatened working environment, and still wanting visible improvement. CONCLUSION: The nurses in the postanesthesia care unit experienced the Green Cross method as a useful patient safety initiative for improving the rate of incident reporting, but barriers to reporting still existed.

Is simulation-based team training performed by personnel in accordance with the INACSL Standards of Best Practice: SimulationSM?-a qualitative interview study.

BACKGROUND: Anesthesia personnel was among the first to implement simulation and team training including non-technical skills (NTS) in the field of healthcare. Within anesthesia practice, NTS are critically important in preventing harmful undesirable events. To our best knowledge, there has been little documentation of the extent to which anesthesia personnel uses recommended frameworks like the Standards of Best Practice: SimulationSM to guide simulation and thereby optimize learning. The aim of our study was to explore how anesthesia personnel in Norway conduct simulation-based team training (SBTT) with respect to outcomes and objectives, facilitation, debriefing, and participant evaluation. METHODS: Individual qualitative interviews with healthcare professionals, with experience and responsible for SBTT in anesthesia, from 51 Norwegian public hospitals were conducted from August 2016 to October 2017. A qualitative deductive content analysis was performed. RESULTS: The use of objectives and educated facilitators was common. All participants participated in debriefings, and almost all conducted evaluations, mainly formative. Preparedness, structure, and time available were pointed out as issues affecting SBTT. CONCLUSIONS: Anesthesia personnel's SBTT in this study met the International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning (INACSL) Standard of Best Practice: SimulationSM framework to a certain extent with regard to objectives, facilitators' education and skills, debriefing, and participant evaluation.

Longitudinal team training program in a Norwegian surgical ward: a qualitative study of nurses' and physicians' experiences with implementation.

BACKGROUND: Team training interventions to improve team effectiveness within healthcare are widely used. However, in-depth knowledge of how healthcare professionals experience such team training curricula and their implementation processes, as well as how contextual factors impact implementation, is currently missing. The aim of this study is therefore to describe healthcare professionals' experiences with the implementation of a longitudinal interprofessional team training program in a surgical ward. METHODS: A descriptive design was applied based on qualitative semi-structured focus group interviews with 11 healthcare professionals. A convenience sample of physicians (n = 4), registered nurses (n = 4), and certified nursing assistants (n = 3) was divided into three professionally based focus groups, which were interviewed at three time intervals over a period of 1 year. INTERVENTION: The validated and evidence-based team training program Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety (TeamSTEPPS) was implemented in a surgical ward at a hospital between January 2016 and June 2017. The team training program included three phases: 1) assessment and planning, 2) training and implementation, and 3) sustainment. RESULTS: Healthcare professionals' experiences with the content of the team training program varied from valuing the different elements of it to seeing the challenges in implementing the elements in clinical practice. A one-day training course was found to be especially beneficial for interprofessional collaboration at the ward. Over time, the nursing staff seemed to maintain their motivation for the implementation of the tools and strategies, while the physicians became less actively involved. Contextual ward factors influenced the adoption and utilization of the tools and strategies of the program both positively and negatively. The healthcare professionals' experienced the implementation of the team training program as positive for the patient safety culture at the ward in the forms of increased awareness of teamwork and open communication. CONCLUSIONS: The study suggests that the implementation of a team training program in a surgical ward is dependent on a set of factors related to content, process, context, and impact. Knowledge on how and why a team training program work supports the transferability to clinical practice in further planning of team training measures. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study is part of a larger research project with a study protocol that was registered retrospectively on 05.30.17, with the trial registration number ISRCTN13997367 .

A human factors intervention in a hospital - evaluating the outcome of a TeamSTEPPS program in a surgical ward.

BACKGROUND: Patient safety in hospitals is being jeopardized, since too many patients experience adverse events. Most of these adverse events arise from human factors, such as inefficient teamwork and communication failures, and the incidence of adverse events is greatest in the surgical area. Previous research has shown the effect of team training on patient safety culture and on different areas of teamwork. Limited research has investigated teamwork in surgical wards. The aim of this study was to evaluate the professional and organizational outcomes of a team training intervention among healthcare professionals in a surgical ward after 6 and 12 months. Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety 2.0 was used as a conceptual framework for the study. METHODS: This study had a pre-post design with measurements at baseline and after 6 and 12 months of intervention. The intervention was conducted in a urology and gastrointestinal surgery ward in Norway, and the study site was selected based on convenience and the leaders' willingness to participate in the project. Survey data from healthcare professionals were used to evaluate the intervention. The organizational outcomes were measured by the unit-based sections of the Hospital Survey of Patient Safety Culture Questionnaire, and professional outcomes were measured by the TeamSTEPPS Teamwork Perceptions Questionnaire and the Collaboration and Satisfaction about Care Decisions in Teams Questionnaire. A paired t-test, a Wilcoxon signed-rank test, a generalized linear mixed model and linear regression analysis were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: After 6 months, improvements were found in organizational outcomes in two patient safety dimensions. After 12 months, improvements were found in both organizational and professional outcomes, and these improvements occurred in three patient safety culture dimensions and in three teamwork dimensions. Furthermore, the results showed that one of the significant improved teamwork dimensions "Mutual Support" was associated with the Patient Safety Grade, after 12 months of intervention. CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate that the team training program had effect after 12 months of intervention. Future studies with larger sample sizes and stronger study designs are necessary to examine the causal effect of a team training intervention in this context. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN13997367 (retrospectively registered).

Reliability and structural validity of the Norwegian version of the TeamSTEPPS Teamwork Attitudes Questionnaire: A cross-sectional study among Bachelor of Nursing students.

AIM: To test the reliability and structural validity of the Norwegian version of the TeamSTEPPS® Teamwork Attitudes Questionnaire (T-TAQ) among Bachelor of Nursing students. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. METHODS: Bachelor of Nursing students (N = 1,624) at three campuses in different regions of Norway were invited to complete the survey. The data were analysed with descriptive statistics, Cronbach's alpha and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Three models were tested. Model 3 was a post hoc modification with a correlation between four negatively worded items. The data was collected in September 2018 and May-June 2019. RESULTS: A total of 509 students were included in the study. Cronbach's alpha ranged from 0.44-0.70 for the dimensions and was 0.79 for the total questionnaire. The fit indexes of model 3 were as follows: RMSEA = 0.043, chi-square = 724.3 (p < .000), normed chi-square = 1.862, TLI = 0.812 and CFI = 0.832. The questionnaire shows some potential to display attitudes towards teamwork in health care among Bachelor of Nursing students. Low Cronbach's alpha in the dimensions might indicate that the questionnaire should be considered used as a unidimensional questionnaire.

The Swedish version of the TeamSTEPPS® teamwork attitudes questionnaire (T-TAQ): A validation study.

BACKGROUND: Effective teamwork is essential for delivering safe health care. It is important to increase patient safety in healthcare by conducting interprofessional team training with both healthcare professionals and undergraduate students. Validated questionnaires that evaluate team training activities contribute to valuable knowledge regarding changes in attitudes toward teamwork. The aim of the study was to test the reliability and structural validity of the Swedish version of the TeamSTEPPS® Teamwork Attitudes Questionnaire (T-TAQ). METHODS: The study had a cross-sectional design. Four hospitals in three health care regions in Sweden participated in the study. In total, 458 healthcare professionals, response rate 39.4%, completed the questionnaire. The T-TAQ, which consists of 30 items and covers five dimensions (Team Structure, Leadership, Situation Monitoring, Mutual Support and Communication), was translated to Swedish. A paper version of the T-TAQ was distributed to healthcare professionals (physicians, registered nurses, midwives, nursing assistants and allied health professionals) from the hospitals. Reliability and validity were tested using Cronbach's alpha and confirmatory factor analysis. RESULTS: Cronbach's alpha was 0.70 for the total T-TAQ and ranged from 0.41 to 0.87 for the individual dimensions. The goodness-of-fit indexes in the confirmatory factor analysis (Model 2) revealed a normed chi-square of 2.96, a root mean square error of approximation of 0.068, a Tucker-Lewis index of 0.785 and a comparative fit index of 0.808. CONCLUSIONS: The Swedish version of the T-TAQ has some potential to measure healthcare professionals' general attitudes toward the core components of teamwork in hospital settings. Further validation studies of the Swedish version of the T-TAQ are required, with samples representing both healthcare professionals and students from various healthcare disciplines and educational levels.

The Swedish Version of the TeamSTEPPS® Teamwork Perceptions Questionnaire (T-TPQ): A Validation Study.

PURPOSE: The delivery of effective and safe healthcare to patients is highly dependent on careful collaboration between healthcare professionals. Although teamwork is an important component for patient safety, effective teamwork is not always carried out in hospital wards, leading to negative consequences for the patients. Teamwork measurements can be used to evaluate and provide feedback to healthcare professionals to support team performance and to identify areas for improvement. The TeamSTEPPS® Teamwork Perceptions Questionnaire (T-TPQ) evaluates Team Structure and four core competences of teamwork (Leadership, Situation Monitoring, Mutual Support, and Communication) among healthcare professionals in various healthcare settings. The questionnaire was judged to be relevant in a Swedish healthcare context and was translated into Swedish. This study aimed to test the reliability and construct validity of the Swedish version of the T-TPQ. METHODS: A total of 450 (of 1176) frontline healthcare professionals working at four hospitals responded to the questionnaire. A confirmatory factor analysis was carried out to test the factor structure. Cronbach's alpha was used to measure internal consistency. RESULTS: The hypothesized five-factor model of the five dimensions showed acceptable goodness-of-fit indexes. Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the total T-TPQ was 0.94, and the Cronbach's alpha coefficients for the dimensions ranged from 0.79 to 0.92. The intercorrelation coefficients ranged from 0.27 to 0.74. CONCLUSION: The Swedish version of the T-TPQ showed acceptable reliability and validity for measuring healthcare professionals' individual perceptions of teamwork at the group level. Due to the low response rate, further studies are required to test the validity of the Swedish T-TPQ.

Longitudinal team training programme in a Norwegian surgical ward: a qualitative study of nurses' and physicians' experiences with teamwork skills.

OBJECTIVES: Teamwork and interprofessional team training are fundamental to ensuring the continuity of care and high-quality outcomes for patients in a complex clinical environment. Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety (TeamSTEPPS) is an evidence-based team training programme intended to facilitate healthcare professionals' teamwork skills. The aim of this study is to describe healthcare professionals' experiences with teamwork in a surgical ward before and during the implementation of a longitudinal interprofessional team training programme. DESIGN: A qualitative descriptive study based on follow-up focus group interviews. SETTING: A combined gastrointestinal surgery and urology ward at a hospital division in a Norwegian hospital trust. PARTICIPANTS: A convenience sample of 11 healthcare professionals divided into three professionally based focus groups comprising physicians (n=4), registered nurses (n=4) and certified nursing assistants (n=3). INTERVENTIONS: The TeamSTEPPS programme was implemented in the surgical ward from May 2016 to June 2017. The team training programme included the three phases: (1) assessment and planning, (2) training and implementation and (3) sustainment. RESULTS: Before implementing the team training programme, healthcare professionals were essentially satisfied with the teamwork skills within the ward. During the implementation of the programme, they experienced that team training led to greater awareness and knowledge of their common teamwork skills. Improved teamwork skills were described in relation to a more systematic interprofessional information exchange, consciousness of leadership-balancing activities and resources, the use of situational monitoring tools and a shared understanding of accountability and transparency. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that the team training programme provides healthcare professionals with a set of tools and terminology that promotes a common understanding of teamwork, hence affecting behaviour and communication in their daily clinical practice at the surgical ward. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN13997367.

A qualitative study of how inter-professional teamwork influences perioperative nursing.

Aim: To explore Norwegian operating room nurses' perceptions of how team skills in the inter-professional operating room team influence perioperative nursing in relation to patient safety. Design: A qualitative, descriptive study based on interviews. Methods: Ten operating room nurses (N = 10) employed in four Norwegian hospitals were interviewed individually. A qualitative inductive content analysis was conducted. The study was reported adhering to the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research Checklist. Results: Three generic categories, containing three subcategories each, were identified illuminate the operating room nurses' perceptions. The operating room team's team skills influence on (a) the quality of perioperative nursing, about task performance, result for the patient and learning; (b) the progress of perioperative nursing, by keeping focus on the task, being prepared and task distribution and (c) the operating room nurses' work environment in the operating room, including confidence, stress and energy use and irritation or job satisfaction.

Cross-cultural validation and psychometric testing of the Norwegian version of TeamSTEPPS teamwork attitude questionnaire.

Healthcare professionals' attitudes play a significant role in influencing team behavior, and thereby affect the quality and safety of patient care. Culturally adapted and validated questionnaires may contribute valuable knowledge of professionals' attitudes toward teamwork. The aim of the study was to translate and cross-validate the TeamSTEPPS Teamwork Attitude Questionnaire (T-TAQ) into Norwegian, and to test the questionnaire for psychometric properties among Norwegian healthcare professionals. The T-TAQ, measuring five dimensions of attitude towards teamwork, was translated according to a model of back translation. Healthcare professionals (N = 247) from various hospital settings responded. A Pearson correlation coefficient, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), test-retest reliability, Cronbach's alpha, and McDonald's omega were conducted. The inter-correlation test of the T-TAQ dimensions ranged from 0.16 to 0.54. The CFA showed a Root Mean Square Error of Approximation of (RMSEA) = 0.061. Test-retest showed Intraclass Correlation Coefficient scores from 0.73 to 0.86, with Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's omega demonstrating values from 0.53 to 0.76 (alpha) and 0.57 to 0.76 (omega) on the five dimensions. The Norwegian version of T-TAQ revealed potential concerning the psychometric property for measuring healthcare professionals' attitudes toward teamwork in hospital settings. Further testing with a sample that is more proportionally composed in terms of an interprofessional mix is therefore proposed.

An interprofessional team training intervention with an implementation phase in a surgical ward: A controlled quasi-experimental study.

Despite a growing awareness of the importance of interprofessional teamwork in relation to patient safety, many hospital units lack effective teamwork. The aim of this study was to explore if an interprofessional teamwork intervention in a surgical ward changed the healthcare personnel's perceptions of patient safety culture, perceptions of teamwork, and attitudes toward teamwork over 12 months. Healthcare personnel from surgical wards at two hospitals participated in a controlled quasi-experimental study. The intervention consisted of six hours of TeamSTEPPS team training and 12 months for the implementation of teamwork tools and strategies. The data collection was conducted among the healthcare personnel in the intervention group and the control group at baseline and at the end of the 12 month study period. The results within the intervention group showed that there were significantly improved scores in three of 12 patient safety culture dimensions and in three of five perceptions of teamwork dimensions after 12 months. When comparing between groups, significant differences were found in three patient safety culture measures in favor of the intervention group. The results of the study suggest that the teamwork intervention had a positive impact on patient safety culture and teamwork in the surgical ward.