Teams communicating through STEPPS.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Patient Safety
• Teamwork and Communication

Background:

• TeamSTEPPS is an evidence-based teamwork system designed to enhance performance and patient safety.
• Implementation occurred across five South Australian healthcare sites using a train-the-trainer model over eight months.
• This study focuses on the outcomes at one inpatient mental health facility.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of the TeamSTEPPS program implementation in an Australian mental health setting.
• To assess the impact on observed team behaviors, staff attitudes, and clinical outcomes.
• To determine if TeamSTEPPS enhances patient safety culture and clinical performance.

Main Methods:

• A train-the-trainer model was employed for TeamSTEPPS implementation.
• Data collection involved direct observation and questionnaire surveys.
• Key outcome measures included team knowledge, skills, attitudes (KSA), patient safety culture, incident reporting, and seclusion rates.

Main Results:

• Significant improvements were observed in two dimensions of patient safety culture: frequency of event reporting and organizational learning.
• Staff knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSA) towards teamwork and communication increased by 6.8%.
• Clinical outcomes showed a reduction in seclusion rates.

Conclusions:

• TeamSTEPPS implementation positively impacted patient safety culture, teamwork, and communication in the mental health facility.
• The program fostered a culture of learning from patient safety incidents and driving continuous improvement.
• The findings support the effectiveness of TeamSTEPPS in improving healthcare settings.