Abstract
Purpose: This quality improvement (QI) project assessed baseline teamwork perceptions among labor and delivery nurses, implemented a unit-specific debriefing tool to guide nurse-led debriefing sessions after every birth, and re-evaluated teamwork perceptions following the intervention.
Background/Problem: Patient harm events are a persistent global healthcare issue with significant implications for patients, families, and healthcare providers. These events often stem from preventable factors, including communication breakdowns, leadership issues, and inadequate situation monitoring within healthcare teams. To address this, a team implemented a QI project at a Pacific Northwest community hospital's family birth center with nurse-led debriefing sessions after every birth. Debriefing, a structured process of reviewing clinical events, has been shown to enhance teamwork and reduce adverse events.
Methods: The project employed the Knowledge-to-Action Framework to guide the development and implementation of a unit-specific debriefing form designed to support nurse-led debriefing sessions. The study population included seven clinical assistant nurse managers and charge nurses.
A one-hour educational session introduced participants to TeamSTEPPS® debriefing tools. The intervention group was tasked with facilitating debriefings after every birth on the unit for an eight-week period. Participants completed an evaluation of each debriefing session. The TeamSTEPPS® Teamwork Perceptions Questionnaire was administered before and after the intervention to assess changes in teamwork perceptions.
Results: While not statistically significant, post-intervention scores indicated improvement in teamwork perceptions in four out of five subscales: Team Function, Team Leadership, Mutual Support, and Communication. A potential decline in the Situation Monitoring subscale was an unexpected finding.
Conclusions: Although the small sample size warrants caution in generalizing the results, the findings suggest that structured debriefing using TeamSTEPPS® tools may be valuable in enhancing teamwork, improving patient safety in the labor and delivery setting, and be a valuable strategy for promoting healthy work and learning environments in healthcare settings. Further research with a larger sample size is needed to confirm these findings.
Notes
References:
1. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2023). TeamSTEPPS®: Team strategies and tools to enhance performance and patient safety. Retrieved June 2, 2024, from https://www.ahrq.gov/teamstepps- program/index.html
2. Carver, N., Gupta, V., & Hipskind, J. E. (2023, May 7). Medical Errors. In Stat pearls. StatPearls Publishing. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK430763/
3. Fukushima, Y., Yamada, A., Imoto, N., & Iba, T. (2019). Does TeamSTEPPS affect psychological status? International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, 32(1), 11-20. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-021-01038-1
4. Krivanek, M. J., Dolansky, M., Goliat, L., & Petty, G. (2020). Implementing TeamSTEPPS to facilitate workplace civility and nurse retention. Journal for Nurses in Professional Development, 36(5). 259-265. https://doi.org/10.1097/NND.0000000000000666
5. Obenrader, C., Broome, M. E., Yap, T. L., & Jamison, F. (2019). Changing team member perceptions by implementing TeamSTEPPS in an emergency department. Journal o
6. Staines, A., LeCureux, E., Rubin, P., Baralon, C., & Farin, A. (2020). Impact of TeamSTEPPS on patient safety culture in a Swiss maternity ward. International Society for Quality in Health Care, 32(9), 618-624. https://doi.org/10.1093/intqhc/mzz062
7. Terregino, C.A., Jagpal, S., Parikh, P., Pradhan, A., Weber, P., Michaels, L., Nicastro O., Escobar, J., & Rashid, H. (2023). Critical care teamwork in the future: The role of TeamSTEPPS® in the COVID-19 pandemic and implications for the future. Healthcare, 11(4), 599. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11040599
Sigma Membership
Non-member
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Quality Improvement
Research Approach
Translational Research/Evidence-based Practice
Keywords:
Acute Care, Clinical Practice, Workplace Culture, Labor and Deliver Nurses, Debriefing, Teamwork, TeamSTEPPS, Patient Safety
Recommended Citation
Emery, Jamie M., "The Impact of TeamSTEPPS Debriefing on Teamwork Perceptions: Reflections from a Family Birth Center" (2025). Biennial Convention (CONV). 206.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/convention/2025/presentations_2025/206
Conference Name
48th Biennial Convention
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2025-12-08
The Impact of TeamSTEPPS Debriefing on Teamwork Perceptions: Reflections from a Family Birth Center
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Purpose: This quality improvement (QI) project assessed baseline teamwork perceptions among labor and delivery nurses, implemented a unit-specific debriefing tool to guide nurse-led debriefing sessions after every birth, and re-evaluated teamwork perceptions following the intervention.
Background/Problem: Patient harm events are a persistent global healthcare issue with significant implications for patients, families, and healthcare providers. These events often stem from preventable factors, including communication breakdowns, leadership issues, and inadequate situation monitoring within healthcare teams. To address this, a team implemented a QI project at a Pacific Northwest community hospital's family birth center with nurse-led debriefing sessions after every birth. Debriefing, a structured process of reviewing clinical events, has been shown to enhance teamwork and reduce adverse events.
Methods: The project employed the Knowledge-to-Action Framework to guide the development and implementation of a unit-specific debriefing form designed to support nurse-led debriefing sessions. The study population included seven clinical assistant nurse managers and charge nurses.
A one-hour educational session introduced participants to TeamSTEPPS® debriefing tools. The intervention group was tasked with facilitating debriefings after every birth on the unit for an eight-week period. Participants completed an evaluation of each debriefing session. The TeamSTEPPS® Teamwork Perceptions Questionnaire was administered before and after the intervention to assess changes in teamwork perceptions.
Results: While not statistically significant, post-intervention scores indicated improvement in teamwork perceptions in four out of five subscales: Team Function, Team Leadership, Mutual Support, and Communication. A potential decline in the Situation Monitoring subscale was an unexpected finding.
Conclusions: Although the small sample size warrants caution in generalizing the results, the findings suggest that structured debriefing using TeamSTEPPS® tools may be valuable in enhancing teamwork, improving patient safety in the labor and delivery setting, and be a valuable strategy for promoting healthy work and learning environments in healthcare settings. Further research with a larger sample size is needed to confirm these findings.
Description
TeamSTEPPS is an evidence-based intervention proven to increase teamwork, improve psychological safety, and patient outcomes. Nursing represents fifty percent of the workforce, and the level of teamwork is reflected in the delivery of care. This presentation will help you respond to the needs of your staff and patients.