Does Teamwork and Communication Improve with Simulation Training? an Evaluation of Simulation Training Videos in Bihar, India
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Research Article 1 Does teamwork and communication improve with simulation training? An evaluation of simulation training videos in Bihar, India 1* 2 3 4 5 JESSICA D DYER , MELISSA C MORGAN , SUSANNA R COHEN , RAKESH GHOSH , JULIA RANEY , 4 6 1 7 HILARY SPINDLER , TANMAY MAHAPATRA , AMELIA CHRISTMAS , AND DILYS M WALKER 1PRONTO International, Seattle, WA, USA 2Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA 3College of Nursing, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 4Global Health Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA 5Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA 6CARE India Solutions for Sustainable Development, Patna, Bihar, India 7Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Services, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA * Corresponding author: [email protected] BACKGROUND High rates of medical error – attributed to ineffective communication among health care providers – poses a threat to patient safety. We embedded Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety (TeamSTEPPS™) concepts within a simulation-based curriculum and trained clinical teams providing intrapartum care in low-income settings. We evaluated whether simulation can be used to improve teamwork and communication among clinical teams. METHODS Nurse mentors facilitated and video-recorded simulated clinical scenarios to give health care providers (mentees) the opportunity to practice both technical and non-technical skills. Independent evaluators reviewed video-recorded simulation scenarios at midpoint and endpoint to evaluate changes in use of technical and non-technical skills. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with nurse mentors to explore their experiences teaching non-technical skills to clinical teams. RESULTS Five hundred and sixty-six simulated clinical scenarios were included in the final analysis. Adoption of techniques to improve communication and teamwork, such as the ‘SBAR’ technique and ‘think out loud’, increased from midpoint to endpoint in all simulated scenarios. CONCLUSION Incorporation of TeamSTEPPS™ concepts into a simulation training program for health care providers improved teamwork and communication in simulated scenarios and can potentially be extended to actual emergency cases. Key words: Simulation, Assessment, Nurse, Mentor, India, Maternal Health, Teamwork BACKGROUND mated that 45,000-98,000 patients die each year in Ameri- can hospitals due to medical errors (Kohn, Linda T.; Cor- The groundbreaking Institute of Medicine (1999) report, rigan, Janet; Donaldson, 2000). Subsequent medical error To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System, esti- Research Article East African Journal of Applied Health Monitoring and Evaluation 2 and patient safety reports by the Institute of Medicine This study took place in primary health centers (2001) and other institutions have highlighted poor com- offering basic emergency obstetric and neonatal care munication, hierarchy, intimidation, and lack of team co- (BEmONC) in Bihar, India. Bihar is a resource-poor ordination as reasons for many of these medical errors (A. state with a reported maternal mortality ratio of 208 Wilson & Carr, n.d.). These reports shifted the emphasis (163-253) maternal deaths per 100,000 live births (MMR of medical education models from those that prioritize Bulletin Sample Registration System, 2013) and a neonatal individual knowledge, skill, and attitude to those that rec- mortality rate of 26 neonatal deaths per 1,000 live births ognize effective teamwork is a crucial component in the (Sample Registration System Statistical Report 2014, 2014), management of emergencies (D Siassakos et al., 2010). both higher than the national averages. These facilities Simulation is an effective strategy used to train offer maternal and child health services, including providers in emergency response and management (A. antenatal, intrapartum, and postnatal care. However, E. R. Merién, van de Ven, Mol, Houterman, & Oei, 2010; these sites often face challenges in service delivery due to Weinberg, Auerbach, & Shah, 2009). Simulations have shortage of health care providers and supplies. been shown to improve communication skills by pro- viding a safe environment where providers can prac- Intervention tice and receive feedback on technical and non-technical In 2014, the University of California San Fran- competencies ( a E. R. Merién, van de Ven, Mol, Houter- cisco (UCSF), PRONTO International (PRONTO) man, & Oei, 2010; Parsons, Zhou, Spurrier, & Makrides, (www.prontointernational.org) and the University of 2008). Following these initial studies, the U.S. Govern- Utah partnered with CARE India and the Government of ment Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality es- Bihar to adapt and integrate PRONTO’s highly-realistic tablished an evidence-based list of teamwork strategies simulation into the ’Apatkaleen Matritva evam Navjat (Baker, Gustafson, Beaubien, Salas, & Barach, 2003). Team Tatparta’ (AMANAT), translating to ’Emergency Obstet- Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient rical and Neonatal Readiness’, a program to improve Safety (TeamSTEPPS™), a collaborative effort between the the quality of obstetric and neonatal services in Bihar, U.S. Department of Defense and Agency for Healthcare India. In order to address teamwork and communication Research and Quality, has become the standard curricu- between providers, PRONTO’s curriculum developers lum for medical team communication and has recently embedded TeamSTEPPS™ concepts within its simulation been combined with simulation in many programs (Clark, curriculum resulting in a curriculum which allowed Fisher, Arafeh, & Druzin, 2010; Daniels et al., 2010; Walker mentees to practice both technical and non-technical skills et al., 2012). Multiple studies conducted in high-resource in a scenario that felt like a real emergency. A cohort of 80 settings have demonstrated the efficacy of simulation to nurse mentors facilitated AMANAT to train health care improve communication within a clinical team, as well providers (mentees) at 320 designated BEmONC facilities as between providers and patients (Anderson, Murphy, in Bihar, India. The program was rolled out in four Boyle, Yaeger, & Halamek, 2006; Lane & Rollnick, 2007; phases between January 2015 and January 2017, with 80 Sleeper & Thompson, 2008). BEmONC facilities per phase. Prior to roll-out, PRONTO Less is known about the impact of simulation on master trainers trained nurse mentors to conduct and teamwork and communication in low-resource settings, video record simulations, facilitate video-guided debrief- such as the Indian state of Bihar. Because teamwork and ing sessions, introduce TeamSTEPPS™ concepts, and communication have been shown to be essential skills conduct post-event debriefing after live births. in emergency management (Baker et al., 2003) in high- The 80 nurse mentors worked in groups of two to form resource settings, it is important to understand providers’ 40 pairs. Each nurse mentor pair visited four assigned experiences learning TeamSTEPPS™ techniques and BEmONC facilities for one week each month over the practicing these techniques in resource-constrained course of six to eight months. During each visit, mentors settings. were instructed to facilitate simulations with mentees for at least three specified clinical scenarios, including normal METHODS spontaneous vaginal deliveries (NSVD), postpartum hemorrhage and neonatal resuscitation. Nurse mentors Study design were also instructed to introduce teamwork and commu- We used a quantitative approach to assess adoption nication techniques (Table 1) to mentees and to encourage of TeamSTEPPS™ techniques during video-recorded practice by selecting and facilitating activities related to simulations of emergency obstetric and neonatal situa- teamwork and communication (Table 2). Each teamwork tions in Bihar, India. We also conducted semi-structured and communication activity contains a structured debrief interviews with nurse mentors to understand their to guide the nurse mentor in a debrief that relates the experiences teaching teamwork and communication activity to clinical practice. The simulation and team skills. training activities provided mentees with opportunities to practice technical competencies for the management Study Setting of a variety of neonatal and obstetric emergency cases, and Research Article East African Journal of Applied Health Monitoring and Evaluation 3 Table 2. Teamwork and communication activities, learning objectives Table 1. Definitions of teamwork and communication techniques and frequency of use by Phase (each Phase contains 80 facilities). Communication Definition Name of Learning Objective Phase Phase Phase Skill Activity 2 3 4 Call for help When the primary provider asks for help or Animal Team building and non- 20 8 28 asks someone to go get help (this includes call- Line Up verbal communication ing for doctor). Back to Closed loop communication 20 9 29 Check back Using closed-loop communication to ensure Back (call-out and check-back) that information conveyed by the sender is un- derstood by the receiver, as intended. Balls in Air Situation monitoring and 15 8 23 mutual support SBAR SBAR is a brief communication technique that includes at least three of the following: Sit- Birthday Team building and non- 25 17 42 uation, Background, Assessment (diagnosis), Line Up verbal communication and Recommendation