Utilize the modified Delphi technique to develop trauma care indicators

Area of Science:

• Trauma Care Quality Assessment
• Surgical Quality Improvement
• Healthcare Performance Measurement

Background:

• Effective trauma patient care requires robust quality assessment tools.
• Existing indicators may not fully capture the nuances of early trauma management.
• Standardized metrics are crucial for evaluating emergency and early hospitalization phases.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate performance indicators for trauma patient care.
• To establish metrics reflecting quality in the emergency room and initial 48 hours of hospitalization.
• To create a tool for specialist-led quality evaluation in trauma care.

Main Methods:

• A two-round Delphi technique involving 11 expert trauma surgeons.
• Rating of proposed indicators using a 5-point visual analogue scale.
• Consensus defined as agreement by over 70% of experts (8/11).

Main Results:

• Fifty-three initial performance indicators were proposed across emergency and hospitalization domains.
• Thirty-five indicators achieved consensus after two Delphi rounds.
• Specifically, 21 indicators for emergency room trauma care and 14 for hospitalization within 48 hours were finalized.

Conclusions:

• A validated set of 35 performance indicators for early trauma care has been developed.
• These indicators provide a framework for assessing trauma care quality in emergency departments and initial hospitalization.
• The developed indicators are intended for use by specialists in future quality evaluation phases.