Perceived barriers to multiprofessional team briefings in operating theatres: a qualitative study

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Surgical Team Dynamics
• Patient Safety

Background:

• Multiprofessional team briefings (MPTB) can improve operating theatre teamwork and communication.
• Despite benefits, MPTB are underutilized in surgical settings.
• A systems perspective is needed to understand implementation barriers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate perceived barriers to MPTB implementation in operating theatres.
• To identify strategies for overcoming these barriers.
• To analyze barriers and solutions from a multilevel systems perspective.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative content analysis of open-ended survey responses.
• Data collected from 103 operating theatre staff across four Australian tertiary hospitals.
• Analysis focused on themes and systems levels of barriers and solutions.

Main Results:

• Barriers were identified at individual (22.33%), organisational (15.81%), and work group (61.39%) levels.
• Solutions were predominantly organisational (74.10%), followed by work group (25.09%).
• A key barrier is coordinating staff availability; higher-level solutions can address lower-level barriers.

Conclusions:

• Successful MPTB implementation necessitates multi-level systems changes.
• Strategic planning for systems-based solutions is crucial for practitioners.
• Future research should explore higher systems-level barriers through case analyses.