Experience with a novel, global, open-access template for major incidents: Qualitative feasibility study

Abstract

Objective The transfer of experiences gained after prehospital medical responses to major incidents has largely been nonsystematic, and better-structured reporting methods have been advocated. A consensus-based template was recently created and implemented as an open-access website. This qualitative study assessed the feasibility of using the template and reporting site. Methods Informants who had used or who had been asked to use the template were interviewed. The semi-structured interviews were transcribed verbatim, and the transcripts were analyzed by using an inductive approach based on grounded theory methodology. Results The major theme identified was a need for defining purpose as explained by the minor themes relevance, scope, resources, and usefulness. Informants reported that the template content needed to be revised and that the scope and rationale behind each question should be conveyed to the user. Resources necessary for reporting and clarity regarding the aim and outcome also need to be communicated to users and policy-makers. The interface between informants and the template is critical. Conclusions Informants considered the template and website useful but reported that the workload exceeded their expectations. Despite pilot testing of the template before implementation, early revision of the template is recommended.