Team situational awareness in the context of hospital emergency: A concept analysis

Abstract

BackgroundSuccessful management of in-hospital life threatening and emergency conditions require a well working, collaborative team. One of the vital skills that enhance team coordination of information and actions is team situational awareness (TSA). Although the concept of TSA has been long known in military and aviation settings, the concept has not been well investigated in the hospital emergency context. ObjectiveThis analysis was to explore the concept of “TSA” in the context of hospital emergency to explain its meaning for optimum understanding and use in clinical practice and future research. ResultsTSA encompasses two types of situational awareness, each equally important: complementary (individual) and shared situational awareness (SA). The three defining attributes of complementary SA are the perception, comprehension, and projection, meanwhile, the three defining attributes of shared SA include: (1) information is clearly shared; (2) interpreted in the same way; and (3) the same projection of actions formed to guide expectation. Although, TSA is related to other terms in literature, there is increasing acknowledgment that the concept has an impact on team performance. Finally, the two types of TSA should be considered when assessing team performance ConclusionTSA is acknowledged in different fields requiring human control as a significant construct for team performance. Yet it needs to be examined in the emergency hospital context, systematically investigated and agreeably recognized as a fundamental factor in team performance.