Effect of Immersive Virtual Reality TeamSTEPPS Training on Safety Behaviors During Surgical Cases: Non-randomized Intervention vs. Control Pilot Study (Preprint)

<sec> <title>BACKGROUND</title> Approximately 4000 preventable surgical errors occur per year in the US operating rooms (ORs), many due to suboptimal teamwork and safety behaviors. </sec> <sec> <title>OBJECTIVE</title> There is a need to develop and quantify the effect of innovative and immersive training intervention on safety behaviors of surgeons in the operating rooms (ORs). </sec> <sec> <title>METHODS</title> This pilot study was conducted in a large academic medical center with 55 ORs. Safety behaviors were observed and quantified using validated Teamwork Evaluation of Non-Technical Skills (TENTS) instrument during surgical cases at baseline (101 observations; n=83 physicians) and post immersive virtual reality (VR) based intervention (post intervention: 24 observations within each group: intervention group (with VR training; n=10 physicians) and control (no VR training; n=10 physicians)). VR intervention included a 45-minute immersive VR-based training incorporating a pre- and post-debriefing based on Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety (TeamSTEPPS) principles to improve safety behaviors. A two-tailed, two-sample t-test with adjustments for multiplicity of the tests was used to test for significance in observable safety behaviors between the groupings. </sec> <sec> <title>RESULTS</title> Pre-intervention, all safety behaviors averaged slightly above ‘acceptable’ scores, with an overall average of 2.2 (range 2.0-2.3; 0-3 scale). The ten physicians that underwent our intervention showed statistically significant improvements in 90% (18/20) of safety behaviors when compared to the ten physicians that did not receive the intervention (overall average [range]: 2.5 [2.3-2.7] vs. 2.1 [1.9-2.2]). </sec> <sec> <title>CONCLUSIONS</title> VR-based immersive training intervention focused on TeamSTEPPS principles seems effective in improving safety behaviors in the ORs as quantified via observations using the TENTS instrument. </sec> <sec> <title>CLINICALTRIAL</title> None </sec> <sec> <title>INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT</title> RR2-10.2196/40445. </sec>