Fitness for purpose study of the Field Assessment Conditioning Tool (FACT): a research protocol

As part of a programme of research aiming to improve the outcomes of traumatically injured children, a multisource healthcare advocacy tool has been developed to allow trauma team members and hospital governance administrators to reflect and to act on complex trauma team-hospital systems interactions. We have termed this tool a Field Assessment Conditioning Tool (FACT). The FACT draws on quantitative data including clinical care points in addition to self-reflective qualitative data. The FACT is designed to provide feedback on this assessment data both horizontally across fellow potential team members and vertically to the hospital/organisation governance structure, enabling process gap identification and allowing an agenda of improvements to be realised. The aim of the study described in this paper is to explore the perceived fitness for purpose of the FACT to provide an opportunity for healthcare advocacy by healthcare professionals caring for traumatically injured children.

The FACT will be implemented and studied in three district hospitals, each around a major trauma centre in the UK, USA and New Zealand. Using a qualitative approach with standardised semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis we will explore the following question: Is the FACT fit for purpose in terms of providing a framework to evaluate, reflect and act on the individual hospital's own performance (trauma team-hospital interactions) in terms of readiness to receive traumatically injured children?

Ethics opinion was sought for each research host organisation participating and deemed not required. The results will be disseminated to participating sites, networks and published in high-impact journals.