Healthcare Workers' Assessment of a Visual Triage System (VTS)

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Infectious Disease Epidemiology
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Emergency departments (EDs) face risks of COVID-19 transmission due to overcrowding and long wait times.
• The Saudi Ministry of Health (MOH) implemented a visual triage system (VTS) to manage Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and later COVID-19 risks.
• VTS aims to identify and isolate suspected infectious patients, reducing transmission within healthcare settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess healthcare workers' (HCWs) satisfaction with the VTS in Saudi Arabian EDs.
• To evaluate HCWs' perceptions of the VTS' effectiveness in managing COVID-19 patients.
• To identify barriers and facilitators for VTS implementation in emergency care.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional, observational study design.
• Data collected via surveys from 127 participants, including 87 ED-based HCWs.
• Analysis of satisfaction levels, perceived effectiveness, training needs, time allocation, and identified barriers.

Main Results:

• Most ED participants reported neutral satisfaction (46.4%) and perceived VTS as somewhat effective (66.7%).
• Significant barriers included insufficient HCW training (70.1%), language differences (63%), and unclear VTS pathways.
• Strengths noted were crowd reduction and identification of COVID-19 patients.

Conclusions:

• HCWs hold a neutral stance on VTS satisfaction and effectiveness, highlighting areas for improvement.
• Addressing training gaps, language barriers, and pathway clarity is crucial for optimizing VTS.
• Despite challenges, VTS shows potential in mitigating ED overcrowding and identifying infectious cases.