Staff Experiences in Robotic Theatres

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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Studies have shown that team work impacts patients safety. This is particularly the case in surgical theatres where individuals from different backgrounds (surgeon, anaesthetists, nurses, ..etc) work together to achieve a common goal which is looking after the patient. The robotic theatre set up is different due to the physical separation of the surgeon from the patient and the rest of the team. This may represent a communication challenge. The Study investigators aim to study theatre staff experiences and practices of communication and teamwork in this special setup, investigating any challenges participants may be facing and possible ways of adapting to them. Staff opinions and suggestions for improvement will be explored for utmost surgical performance and patient safety. The study will involve two parts:1) individual staff interviews and 2) teamwork observations during real life surgery. The two parts should complement each other giving an overall picture of the teamwork in the robotic theatre setup.

Official Title
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A Qualitative Study of Staff Experiences and Practices Within the Robotic Theatre Setup

Conditions
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Robotic Staff Experiences

Intervention / Treatment
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* Other: No intervention


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Robotic theatre staff as above. Willing and able to participate. Good command of the English language. Exclusion Criteria: Theatre staff not involved in robotic surgery. Participants not willing / unable to participate. Staff that have not worked in a conventional theatre setup before. Inability to read/speak/understand English. Lack of capacity for consent.

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Robotic procedures<br>Experiences and practices in Robotic theatres will be studied via semi-structured interviews with staff as well as team observations during real time robotic surgery. As the study is a qualitative one, data collection will continue till we reach saturation of theoretical categories. We expect 20 interviews and 10 observations to suffice. | Other: No intervention<br>* This is a qualitative study involving staff interviews and observations. No intervention is being applied.<br>|
| Non-Robotic procedures<br>Staff involved in robotic surgery will have almost definitely worked in non-robotic theatres ie major abdominal and laparoscopic. Staff interviews will explore differences in experiences and practices between these different theatre setups. In addition, we aim to observe further 5 non-robotic procedures to evaluate staff teamwork and communication within the more regular theatre setup. | Other: No intervention<br>* This is a qualitative study involving staff interviews and observations. No intervention is being applied.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Robotic staff experiences. | This will be explored using individual interviews and team observations. Textual data of interview transcripts and observation field notes will be analysed using constant comparative method. | 1 year | 
| Robotic staff practices | This will be explored using individual interviews and team observations. Textual data of interview transcripts and observation field notes will be analysed using constant comparative method. | 1 year | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Staff communication in robotic theatres. | This will be explored using individual interviews and team observations. Textual data of interview transcripts and observation field notes will be analysed using constant comparative method. | 1 year | 
| Staff teamwork | This will be explored using individual interviews and team observations. Textual data of interview transcripts and observation field notes will be analysed using constant comparative method. | 1 year | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Robotic surgery, theatre staff, teamwork, patient safety