Communication in interdisciplinary teams: exploring closed-loop communication during in situ trauma team training

Area of Science:

• Emergency Medicine
• Healthcare Communication
• Team Training

Background:

• Effective communication, including call-out (CO) and closed-loop communication (CLC), is critical in emergency settings.
• Interdisciplinary trauma teams require clear and reliable verbal exchanges for optimal patient care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the utilization of CO and CLC within simulated trauma team scenarios.
• To examine the relationship between communication practices and various professional and demographic factors.

Main Methods:

• An exploratory study involving 16 interdisciplinary trauma teams (96 participants) in a simulated emergency department setting.
• Data collection focused on the frequency of CO and CLC, and analysis correlated usage with profession, experience, and leadership style.

Main Results:

• The use of CO and CLC was found to be limited (20 CO and 2.8 CLC per team on average).
• Participation in structured trauma courses (≥2) correlated with increased CLC use (RR 3.17).
• Egalitarian leadership styles were associated with a significant increase in CLC frequency (RR 1.14).

Conclusions:

• Despite emphasis on communication, achieving safe and reliable verbal communication in interdisciplinary trauma teams remains a challenge.
• The findings underscore the necessity for validated training models and further implementation studies to enhance team communication.