Interprofessional teamwork in the trauma setting: a scoping review.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Patient Safety
• Teamwork and Communication

Background:

• Approximately 70-80% of healthcare errors stem from inadequate team communication.
• High-risk trauma settings are prone to these errors, yet interprofessional teamworking in this area is under-researched.
• Despite emphasis on collaborative practice, the literature on trauma team dynamics is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a scoping review identifying the extent and nature of literature on interprofessional teamworking in the trauma setting.
• To synthesize findings on trauma team organization, composition, and intervention evaluations.

Main Methods:

• Searched MEDLINE, PubMed, and CINAHL databases (2000-2013) for interprofessional teamworking in trauma.
• Included a hand search of relevant article reference lists.
• Identified and reviewed 24 published articles.

Main Results:

• Studies covered trauma team organization (interaction, leadership), composition (stability, core members), and intervention evaluations (practice, classroom).
• Descriptive studies emphasized fluid team processes, shared mental models, and communication needs.
• Evaluative studies focused on specialized roles, indicating a multiprofessional rather than interprofessional approach.

Conclusions:

• High-performing interprofessional team characteristics identified in trauma settings may be applicable to other healthcare environments.
• Further investigation into interprofessional teamworking models in trauma care is warranted.
• Findings suggest a need to shift from multiprofessional to interprofessional models for improved patient safety.