Usability of novel major TraumaApp for digital data collection

Area of Science:

• Emergency Medicine
• Health Informatics
• Clinical Documentation

Background:

• Effective communication and data collection are crucial in fast-paced major trauma care.
• Traditional paper-based records present limitations for data audit and improvement.
• The Scottish Trauma Network developed the electronic TraumaApp for global adoption.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the usability and efficiency of the TraumaApp compared to paper proformas for major trauma documentation.
• To assess data entry time, clarification time, and error rates between digital and paper methods.

Main Methods:

• A service evaluation was conducted at a hospital Emergency Department.
• Fifty staff members were paired to record major trauma events using either the TraumaApp or paper proforma.
• Data entry time, clarification time, errors, and System Usability Scale (SUS) were measured.

Main Results:

• No significant difference in data entry time was found between the TraumaApp and paper proformas, except for one specific handover case.
• Digital data collection showed a significantly higher time for clarifications and errors in one instance.
• The TraumaApp achieved a mean SUS score of 75, indicating acceptable usability.

Conclusions:

• The TraumaApp offers comparable performance to paper proformas for digital real-time clinical event recording in major trauma.
• The TraumaApp's usability score exceeds international standards, suggesting its suitability for broader implementation.
• Further research is recommended to explore data completeness and optimal training strategies for the TraumaApp.