Updating AHRQ’s TeamSTEPPS
Highlights
- While influential and effective, AHRQ’s TeamSTEPPS training was ready for an update.
- Abt consolidated and updated the training to address changes in healthcare delivery and learning methods, and ensure patient engagement is at the center of care.
- The updated curriculum, TeamSTEPPS 3.0 was launched in June 2023.
Over the past 15 years, hundreds of thousands of healthcare professionals and students have been taught to use AHRQ’s TeamSTEPPS concepts and tools to enhance the quality and safety of patient care. Evidence has steadily accumulated to show the positive impacts of these resources on healthcare safety culture, practices and outcomes in hospitals and other care settings. While core concepts and tools remain valid, training and learning methods have evolved, communication modalities have changed, much teaming is virtual, and methods for promoting equity and patient-centeredness are better understood. With all this in mind, AHRQ contracted with Abt to update teamwork tools and optimize TeamSTEPPS content and training methods to support the needs of 21st century healthcare teams.
TeamSTEPPS 3.0 was developed in consultation with a Technical Expert Panel that included experts in teamwork and team training, as well as patients and family caregivers. It was guided by emerging research related to teams, team performance, communication, and adult learning, and included input from frontline providers in care settings, such as hospitals, long-term care facilities, and outpatient practices.
The TeamSTEPPS 3.0 curriculum has six sections: an introduction section, four modules covering 1) communication, 2) team leadership, 3) situation monitoring, and 4) mutual support, as well as a section on implementation. Each section has accompanying training slides. Training modules can be used together or individually. To support training, Abt developed three patient videos and, with Ariadne Labs, developed training simulation videos for three of the curriculum modules. To meet the needs of different users, Abt developed content for a two-day training, a half-day training, and a mini training session. Abt updated the TeamSTEPPS Pocket Guide to reflect the updated curriculum and tools. To deploy the curriculum, Abt developed the website navigation structure for TeamSTEPPS 3.0.
Abt developed the TeamSTEPPS 3.0 curriculum and it launched in June 2023.