Assessing teamwork attitudes in healthcare: development of the TeamSTEPPS teamwork attitudes questionnaire

Introduction The report, To Err is Human, indicated that a large number of deaths are caused by medical error. A central tenet of this report was that patient safety was not only a function of sophisticated healthcare technology and treatments, but also the degree to which healthcare professionals could perform effectively as teams. Research suggests that teamwork comprises four core skills: Leadership, Situation Monitoring, Mutual Support and Communication. In healthcare, team training programmes, such as TeamSTEPPS (R), are designed to improve participant knowledge of, attitudes towards, and skills in these core areas. If such training programmes are effective, changes in knowledge, attitudes and skills should be observed. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate the TeamSTEPPS Teamwork Attitudes Questionnaire (T-TAQ), a measure designed to assess attitudes towards the core components of teamwork in healthcare. Method A pilot test version of the survey was developed and administered to 495 respondents from various healthcare organisations. Results Classical item statistics were used to select the final T-TAQ items. Based on this analysis, 30 of the original 110 items were selected for inclusion in the final instrument. Scale reliabilities exceed 0.7, and scales were found to be moderately correlated. Discussion The T-TAQ provides a useful, reliable and valid tool for assessing individual attitudes related to the role of teamwork in the delivery of healthcare. Issues related to its use and interpretation are discussed.