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Completed

NCT Number: NCT02857348

A Trial of a Video Game Intervention to Recalibrate Physician Heuristics

The objective of this study is to compare the efficacy of a video game designed to recalibrate physician heuristics in trauma triage with a standard educational program.

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Key information

Conditions

Wounds and Injuries

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

About this study

Treatment at trauma centers improves outcomes for patients with moderate-to-severe injuries. Accordingly, professional organizations, state authorities, and the federal government have endorsed the systematic triage and transfer of these patients to trauma centers either directly from the field or after evaluation at a non-trauma center. Nonetheless, between 30 to 40% of patients with moderate-to-severe injuries still only receive treatment at non-trauma centers, so-called under-triage. Most of this under-triage occurs because of physician decisions (rather than first-responder decisions). Existing efforts to change physician decision making focus primarily on knowledge of clinical practice guidelines and attitudes towards the guidelines. These strategies ignores the growing consensus that decision making reflects both knowledge as well as intuitive judgments (heuristics). Heuristics, mental short cuts based on pattern recognition, drive the majority of decision making. The investigators have developed an adventure video game (Night Shift) to serve as a novel method of recalibrating physician heuristics in trauma triage and will compare its efficacy with a standard educational program.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Physicians who care for adult patients in the Emergency Department.
  • Physicians who work at a non-trauma center.
  • Physicians who work at a Level III/IV trauma center.

Exclusion criteria

  • Physicians who work at a Level I/II trauma center.
  • Physicians who do not practice in the US.

Treatment and study plan

Night shift

Behavioral

Night Shift is an adventure video game with the transformational goal of teaching physicians key characteristics of patients with non-representative severe injuries - injuries classified by the American College of Surgeons as life-threatening or critical but that do not fit the archetype of injuries typically requiring treatment at a trauma center. Players take on the persona of Andy Jordan, a young emergency physician who moves home after the disappearance of his estranged grandfather (Robert Jordan) and takes up a job in the local Emergency Department (ED). In the preamble, players learn they have two explicit objectives. First, they must diagnose and treat patients who present to their ED. Second they must solve the mystery of Robert's disappearance: was he murdered or has he simply chosen to disappear?

Educational module

Behavioral

The educational module consists of two separate apps, both commercially available. myATLS includes a review of each chapter of the Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) textbook, a series of videos demonstrating common trauma procedures, and clinical resources including checklists for use at the bedside. Trauma Life Support MCQ Review includes 550 multiple-choice questions with correct answers and explanations. The investigators will ask physicians to review the myATLS app and then complete questions in the Trauma Life Support MCQ Review, spending at least 1 hour on the combined tasks.

Primary outcomes

  1. Under-triage rate

    Time frame: After completion of the intervention

    Physicians in both arms of the study will be randomized to complete one of two versions of a virtual simulation: a control version and a cognitive load version. They will complete the simulation upon completion of the intervention, ideally within one month of enrollment.

    The virtual simulation replicates the environment of the ED. Physicians have to manage 10 patients that appear concurrently, while also responding to a series of audio-visual distractors. Specifically, they must provide information on whether they will admit, transfer, or discharge the patients home. The investigators will calculate an under-triage rate for each physician (the number of simulated patients with severe injuries not transferred to a trauma center), summarize the under-triage rate by group (Night Shift v. educational control), and will compare the difference in those rates.

Secondary outcomes

  1. The effect of cognitive load on the under-triage rate

    Time frame: After completion of the intervention

    As described above, participants will complete either a control or cognitive load version of the virtual simulation upon completion of the intervention, ideally within one month of the enrollment. As a secondary outcome measure, the investigators will assess the difference in under-triage rates of physicians who complete the simulation under control and cognitive load conditions, by intervention type.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Pittsburgh

Other

Collaborators

  • Carnegie Mellon University

Registry information

Official study title

A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Video Game Intervention to Recalibrate Physician Heuristics

Important dates

Study start
2016
Primary completion
2016
Study completion
2016
First posted
Aug 5, 2016
Registry last updated
Aug 24, 2017

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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