Use Of Tabletop Exercises Research Articles

Development and effectiveness of tabletop exercises in preparing health practitioners in violence prevention management: A sequential explanatory mixed methods study

BackgroundWorkplace violence in healthcare remains a significant issue for healthcare professional, in terms of risk to patients and staff. One part of a workplace violence prevention and management programme is to educate staff in their response to critical events. Drawn from the disaster management literature, tabletop exercises were used in this study to simulate workplace violence and educate staff on the appropriate emergency response during a violent event. The use of tabletop exercise in this context is a novel approach to workplace violence prevention management. Aim and objectiveThis study describes the development and effectiveness of tabletop exercises in preparing health practitioners in violence prevention and management emergency response systems. MethodsUsing a sequential explanatory mixed method design. The study comprised of two phases 1) quasi–experimental (quantitative) and 2) focus group (qualitative) to evaluate the effectiveness of the violence prevention management tabletop exercises. COREQ guidelines were followed the qualitative arm of the study and the TREND statement for the quantitative part of the study. ResultsStatistically significant improvements in healthcare professional confidence levels were found two weeks post the tabletop exercises. A post focus group revealed three categories concerning the participant’s experiences of the tabletop exercises, (role clarity, adult learning and organisational support). ConclusionTabletop exercise may provide a, low cost, context specific novel approach to educating staff in emergency violence response systems at a tertiary referral hospital. Educators and policy makers may consider the use of tabletop exercises in the ongoing work in preparing health care staff for workplace violence. Relevance to clinical practiceSuccessful tabletop exercises should consider a local ward level context, the use of adult learning principles, have high level organisational support and cover role clarity as a key learning area.

Use of tabletop exercises for healthcare education: a scoping review protocol

IntroductionThere is a growing interest in developing interprofessional education (IPE) in the community of healthcare educators. Tabletop exercises (TTX) have been proposed as a mean to cultivate collaborative practice. A...

The use of tabletop exercises in nuclear security education

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the role of tabletop exercises (TTXs) in graduate nuclear security education, their effectiveness and their relationship to traditional forms of classroom instruction. The paper highlights both the benefits and challenges of TTX implementation—the former including higher student motivation and material retention, and the latter including motivational shifts toward “winning” and possible student exclusionary behavior.Design/methodology/approachSurvey results from 49 former students in a US university were collected electronically and combined with anecdotal evidence from student, facilitator and teaching assistant interviews following five iterations of a specifically designed, semester-long, TTX case study. The case study focused on securing a fictional nuclear facility.FindingsStudents found the TTX more memorable and retained more course material when asked to compare the TTX’s effectiveness to long-term course projects in other courses. Their in-class motivations tended to shift from traditional classroom motivations toward “winning,” and “not letting down their classmates.” In some iterations, students also observed classmates becoming more tempted to cheat or otherwise violate academic ethics. Mitigation strategies to prevent such temptations (e.g. removing direct student vs student TTX structures) were found to be effective.Originality/valueThis is the first report on the effective use of a semester-long TTX in a graduate nuclear security classroom. The flexibility of this instructional tool demonstrates its applicability to other classroom subjects including homeland security, emergency management, disease outbreak management and public policy among others.

Southeastern Center for Emerging Biologic Threats Tabletop Exercise: Foodborne Toxoplasmosis Outbreak on College Campuses

The use of tabletop exercises as a tool in emergency preparedness and response has proven to be an effective means of assessing readiness for unexpected events. Whereas most exercise developers target a population in a defined space (eg, state, county, metropolitan area, hospital), the Southeastern Center for Emerging Biologic Threats (SECEBT) conducted an innovative tabletop exercise involving an unusual foodborne outbreak pathogen, targeting public health agencies and academic institutions in 7 southeastern states. The exercise tested the ability of participants to respond to a simulated foodborne disease outbreak affecting the region. The attendees represented 4 federal agencies, 9 state agencies, 6 universities, 1 nonprofit organization, and 1 private corporation. The goals were to promote collaborative relationships among the players, identify gaps in plans and policies, and identify the unique contributions of each organization-and notably academic institutions-to outbreak recognition, investigation, and control. Participants discussed issues and roles related to outbreak detection and management, risk communication, and coordination of policies and responsibilities before, during, and after an emergency, with emphasis on assets of universities that could be mobilized during an outbreak response. The exercise generated several lessons and recommendations identified by participants and evaluators. Key recommendations included a need to establish trigger points and protocols for information sharing and alerts among public health, academic, and law enforcement; to establish relationships with local, state, and federal stakeholders to facilitate communications during an emergency; and to catalogue and leverage strengths, assets, and priorities of academic institutions to add value to outbreak responses.

Use of Tabletop Exercise in Industrial Training Disaster

Training exercises are now frequently used in health disaster and emergency medicine to train first responders,1 including the use of tabletops’ exercises.2–4 However, these kinds of drill are barely described in occupational and industrial safety and health. They represent an interesting alternative to real life disaster plans, considering the enormous human and technical resources that are required, and the disruptance of company’s daily business. We aimed at developing a special training for professionals of health and safety (occupational physicians, hygienists…) in case of health disaster in industrial settings, using a tabletop exercise. We organized a one day-session about disaster fundamentals for 28 occupational physicians included in a Master degree in emergency medicine training. A tabletop exercise was made based on a scenario of a fire in a plant with risk of chemical explosion - 22 victims and one dead (person). Three groups of 9/10 participants had 1h15 to discuss and « play » rescue operations from the initial accident to the discharge of the last victims from the triage centre. They were supervised by a physician and a nurse who are specialized in disaster training. We used a large tabletop representing the industrial plant and the figurines/vehicles (patients, industrial and emergency responders, firemen and police officers, journalist…). Satisfaction and cost were evaluated such as repeatability. The participants were largely satisfied by the training and believe, such as the teachers, that the exercise well illustrates the roles of occupational physicians, the triage centre, and intricate logistics during a health disaster. The direct cost was $1,285 (975 euros), namely $646 for the figurines and $639 for the supervisors for the first year ($46 per participant). At the opposite of a real life exercise, we didn’t notice any impact on daily activities of the company/plant. One year later, the tabletop was performed again with other 28 participants with similar satisfaction and reduced cost (only $639 for the supervisors, $23 per participants). Tabletop exercises simulating industrial disasters appear to be a cost-effective way to train professionals of health and safety. Similar experiences are reported in other contexts: airport disasters,2 biological threats in a public health preparedness,5;6 training of medical technicians for emergency.3 Tabletop exercises could also be used to train different categories of participants in similar drill. Considering the purpose of training participants to organise the prevention and the management of industrial disasters in their own company, it was seen as easier and as cheaper than real life disaster plans. To conclude, although real life exercise remains essential (especially in order to challenge emergency responders) effectiveness should be studied in depth. We think these kinds of exercises should be developed in the industrial settings.