Enhancing Post-Code Blue Debriefing through Identification and Overcoming Barriers Encountered by Healthcare...

A Code Blue in a hospital means that there is a critical medical emergency that requires immediate resuscitation, usually because of cardiac or respiratory arrest. When activated, a specific Code Blue team rapidly takes action to implement life-saving measures. Timely post-Code Blue debriefings are important for team learning, clinical outcomes, and the emotional support of healthcare workers. Debriefing is often ignored due to various problems.

To determine what hinders healthcare professionals (HCPs) from conducting post-Code Blue debriefing, examine factors facilitating debriefing, and assess the association between the perceived barriers and the demographic characteristics of HCPs.

A cross-sectional study involved the Code Blue teams from two tertiary hospitals in Taif City. A survey questionnaire was utilized to assess perceived barriers and facilitators that could enhance post-Code Blue debriefing. Multiple linear regression, the Kruskal-Wallis test, Spearman's correlation, and descriptive statistics were used.

Three primary obstacles to successful debriefing emerged: Leadership, communication, and psychological/emotional. Most barriers pertained to leadership, such as work (mean = 3.65), inadequate resources, and lack of debriefing guidelines and effective training. Ongoing leadership support (mean = 3.75), structured protocol, and allocated time were the most effective facilitators for debriefing. Compared to their older colleagues, younger practitioners reported significantly more communication-related barriers (p = 0.037), indicating that experience may affect post-event discussions. Leadership and psychological barriers were also found to be moderately positively correlated.

Healthcare professionals acknowledge the crucial role of post-Code Blue discussions; however, leadership, emotional, and interpersonal barriers hinder debriefing conductions. Leadership involvement, design of debriefing guidelines, and emotional safety may encourage the regular conduct of debriefing sessions.

AbdElbagy A. Enhancing Post-Code Blue Debriefing through Identification and Overcoming Barriers Encountered by Healthcare Practitioners. Indian J Crit Care Med 2025;29(12):1026-1031.