Using Simulation-based Team Training to Improve Psychological Safety and Relational Coordination as Well as Conducting a Process Evaluation

Plain-language summary

Simulation-based team training is increasingly used in hospitals to support teamwork and communication, particularly in situations that are complex or time-critical. While such training is known to improve observable team behaviours, less is known about how it is implemented in everyday clinical work and how it influences relational aspects of teamwork, such as psychological safety and relational coordination. This study explores the implementation and perceived impact of a simulation-based training programme focused on infectious disease management in a hospital department. Psychological safety refers to whether staff feel safe to speak up, ask questions, and express concerns, while relational coordination concerns how well different professional groups communicate, share goals, and align their work. Using a qualitative process and outcome evaluation, the study examines how the simulation activities were introduced, adapted, and experienced by different staff groups, and how participants perceived their influence on collaboration and professional behaviour. Data are collected through interviews with clinical staff and managers, questionnaires measuring psychological safety and relational coordination before and after the intervention, and systematic registration of simulation activities (including who participated, what was trained, and when and where simulations took place). By combining process evaluation with an exploration of perceived outcomes, the study aims to provide insight into how simulation-based team training functions as a behavioural intervention in complex clinical settings, and how it may support psychologically safe and well-coordinated teamwork in everyday practice.

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