Fostering tEAmwork for ResiLiEnt Staff and Safe care in ICU (FEARLESS ICU): study protocol

In intensive care units (ICUs), various healthcare professions work together in interprofessional teams to deliver high-quality, effective care. These teams and their teamwork practices have implications for staff retention, burnout, and wellbeing, as well as patient safety and care outcomes. However, the United Kingdom's (UK) annual National Health Service (NHS) Staff Survey indicates that reported rates of high-quality teamwork are waning. Interventions to enhance teamwork are therefore crucial, yet in the NHS there is still no consistent approach to training teams. This protocol reports on the qualitative methodology we will employ to understand the factors that influence interprofessional teamwork practices in UK ICUs with a view to developing an evidence-based intervention. Methods consist of a rapid ethnography carried out across a minimum of five different hospitals with ICUs in England, coupled with interviews of health professionals. This in-depth approach will provide the opportunity to observe how different professionals interact with one another, their perceptions of these interactions, and the factors that influence collaborative work. In doing so, we aim to gain a comprehensive and contemporary understanding of ICU team working dynamics in the post-pandemic space. With this knowledge, we will collaborate with healthcare professionals to co-develop an interprofessional toolkit to improve teamwork to ultimately enhance staff wellbeing and improve patient outcomes.