The Use of Observation and Interview Methods for Assessing Issues in Patient Care in the Resuscitation Unit of a Level-1 Trauma Center

Although traumatic injury is the leading cause of death in the U. S. for people between the ages of one and 44, we lack important knowledge about how the various activities and processes within the resuscitation units of trauma care systems can impact the management of patient care. This article reports on a research study that involved the complementation of observation and interview methods for identifying and assessing a broad array of issues and concerns within this highly complex critical care setting in a large level-1 trauma center. Data from observations were collected on 27 days, and subsequently used to guide semi-structured interviews with 22 health care workers representing different specialties responsible for patient care within the resuscitation unit. The complementation of observation and interview data afforded the opportunity to validate issues that were observed while providing a richer understanding of these issues as a basis for formulating intervention strategies.