As the third leading cause of death in the United States, traumatic injuries are inevitable, affecting 59% of individuals under 44 years old. Level I trauma centers are designed to treat the most severe types of injuries. The Joint Commission warns that 7-9% of deaths during patient resuscitation are due to preventable errors. Many of these errors are related to issues related to the physical environment including inefficiencies, interruptions, and disruptions. However, little is known regarding how the physical environment can support improved patient safety outcomes in trauma rooms. This Patient Safety Learning Lab (PSLL) project supports the mission of AHRQ by focusing on components of the work system that lead to improved patient safety outcomes. The proposed PSLL will take a comprehensive approach to study the dynamics among people, tasks, technology, organization, and the physical environment in a trauma room, specifically as they relate to workflow, interruptions and disruptions, technology integration, and sensory attributes. This study is novel in its approach to data collection and analyses. Specifically, this project aims to (1) identify factors related to the physical environment that influence patient safety and efficient care in trauma rooms; (2) develop a time- and cost-effective novel approach to capture observational data in an autonomous and confidential manner to study work system components within trauma rooms; (3) develop design strategies to address patient safety and efficient care and to integrate technology such that future adaptability is maximized, as new models of patient safety emerge over time; (4) test proposed design strategies; and (5) develop an evidence-based model, as an end product, for designing trauma rooms that support efficient patient care while maintaining a safe environment. Through a transdisciplinary collaboration between Kent State University's Healthcare Design, Nursing, and Computer Science programs and Cleveland Clinic Akron General, the study will use the Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety (SEIPS) model to investigate obstacles to improved patient safety outcomes in trauma rooms. In the long run, the developed design guide model is expected to contribute to patient safety in trauma rooms by serving as a primary source to direct the design of the next generation of trauma rooms.
/Relevance Trauma rooms are high-risk environments prepared to respond to unpredictable traumatic events that are life- threatening to patients. Preventable errors that lead to increased mortality are often due to deficits in one or more of the components of the work system and manifest themselves in workflow, interruptions, disruptions, technology integration, and sensory attributes as they relate to technology, tasks, organization, and people within the physical environment. This study is the first to examine how the design of the physical environment can improve patient safety in trauma rooms and is the first to create a model for future trauma room design to improve patient safety and care.
