Barriers to Rapid Triage in Trauma Centers: A Qualitative Content Analysis

Abstract

Background Although specialized trauma care in the triage unit can significantly increase the chances of survival of the injured, the obstacles to rapid triage are still a dilemma. Identifying these barriers is quite essential for effective clinical decision-making and improving positive outcomes. Objective This study aimed to report the experiences of the physicians and nurses regarding the obstacles to rapid triage. Method A qualitative study was performed on twenty physicians and nurses working in the triage unit of Poursina Hospital in northern Iran in 2021 using semi-structured interviews. The experiences were analyzed by the content analysis method. Credibility, reliability, and validity were used for data accuracy and trustworthiness. Sampling continued until data saturation. Results A total of 5 categories and 28 subcategories were obtained including the challenges related to employees, physical resource limitations, disruptions in the processes of triage, controlling and monitoring challenges, and specific characteristics of the referred patients. Conclusion Hospital authorities need to eliminate the barriers to rapid triage of patients which are related to education, experience, training, and retraining of triage staff. Physical resources in these units should increase and the triage processes need to improve by proper leveling of the patients and creating a triage view. The lack of coordination between the pre-hospital emergency team and the triage unit should be improved. Finally, the triage staff can strengthen the therapeutic interaction with agitated patients and caregivers.