Exploring team situation awareness among operating room staff

Team situation awareness is a critical cognitive skill that significantly contributes to the optimal performance of healthcare providers. It fosters a positive understanding among team members, thereby facilitating the delivery of professional and high-quality care. This study aims to elucidate the concept of team situation awareness and its dimensions as perceived by staff working in operating rooms. This study utilizes qualitative, directed content analysis to examine the perspectives of operating room staff in Iran. Participants were selected from various centers through purposive sampling, ensuring maximum variation in demographic characteristics. Data were gathered through in-depth, semi-structured interviews and analyzed using a deductive approach. To ensure comprehensive reporting of the study, the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research checklist (COREQ) was employed. The results indicate that the concept of team situation awareness in operating rooms includes perceiving environmental elements (Identifying equipment and tools, Awareness of the members of the surgical team, Physical condition of the environment), conducting real-time situation analysis (Patient condition assessment, Recognition of potential challenges and risks, Collaborative team decision-making), and projecting future scenarios (Prediction of consequences and assessment the impacts, Crisis management and rapid response). These components are derived from three main categories, eight general categories, and eighteen specific subcategories. The dimensions of team situation awareness in operating room staff encompass procedures that, when effectively promoted, can enhance patient safety, reduce intraoperative risks, and optimize the allocation of clinical resources. Assessing the status of these dimensions within operating rooms can provide a purposeful direction for improving intraoperative safety and informing policy decisions.