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Completed

NCT Number: NCT06063434

Testing the Effectiveness of Night Shift, a Theory-based Customized Video Game

The goal of this clinical trial is to test the effect of a video game on the implementation of clinical practice guidelines in trauma triage. The main question it attempts to answer is whether exposure to the game improves compliance with guidelines by emergency medicine physicians working at non-trauma centers in the US. Participants randomized to the intervention condition will be asked to play a customized, theory-based video game for 2 hours immediately after enrollment, and then return to the game for 20 minutes every three months for the next 9 months. Participants in the control condition will receive usual care.

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Key information

Conditions

Trauma Injury Accidental Injuries Physician's Role Wounds and Injuries

Age range

25 year–70 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

University of Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15213, United States

About this study

Transfer of severely injured patients to trauma centers, either directly from the field or after evaluation at non-trauma centers, reduces preventable morbidity and mortality. Failure to transfer these patients appropriately (i.e., under-triage) remains common, and occurs in part because physicians at non-trauma centers make diagnostic errors when evaluating the severity of patients' injuries. The study team developed Night Shift, a theory-based adventure video game, to recalibrate physician heuristics (intuitive judgments) in trauma triage and established its efficacy in the laboratory. The investigators plan a Type 1 hybrid effectiveness-implementation trial to determine whether the game changes physician triage decisions in real-life, and hypothesize that it will reduce the proportion of patients under-triaged.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

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

Inclusion criteria

  • Board certified physicians who work exclusively in the emergency departments (EDs) of non-trauma centers in the US AND triage adult trauma patients

Exclusion criteria

  • non-physician healthcare professionals who work in EDs
  • physicians who work at trauma and non-trauma centers
  • physicians who work outside the continental US

Treatment and study plan

Night shift

Behavioral

The player must not only manage the patients who present to the emergency department of the hospital, gaining experience with the consequences of trauma triage, but also solve the mystery of the grandfather, gaining an emotional connection with the character and making the feedback that "Andy" receives more relevant. Embedded within Night Shift 2024 is a mini-game (Graveyard Shift) that contains a series of puzzles that reinforce the lessons of the overarching game: transfer severely injured patients expeditiously.

Usual education

Behavioral

Standard continuing medical education, including Advanced Trauma Life Support, and the American Board of Emergency Medicine educational modules (e.g., trauma resuscitation).

Primary outcomes

  1. Under-triage

    Time frame: 1 year

    Number of severely injured patients, treated by trial participants, who are admitted or discharged (i.e., not transferred) after initial evaluation at a non-trauma center as recommended by clinical practice guidelines.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Mortality and Hospital Readmission

    Time frame: 1 year

    Number of severely injured patients, treated by trial participants, who die or are readmitted to any hospital within 30 days of their initial evaluation at a non-trauma center

  2. Functional Dependence

    Time frame: 1 year

    Proportion of severely injured patients, treated by trial participants, with 90-day preadmission location at home with discharge to a skilled nursing or rehabilitation facility after initial treatment at a non-trauma center.

  3. Over-triage

    Time frame: 1 year

    Number of injured patients, treated by trial participants, transferred to a higher level of care after initial evaluation at a non-trauma center with minimal injuries. The Overall Number of Participants Analyzed reflects the number of enrolled physicians. The values in the data table report transferred patients treated by physicians enrolled in the trial.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Pittsburgh

Other

Collaborators

  • National Institute on Aging (NIA)

Registry information

Official study title

Testing the Effectiveness of a Theory-based, Customized Video Game at Increasing the Implementation of Clinical Practice Guidelines in Trauma Triage

Important dates

Study start
2023
Primary completion
2025
Study completion
2025
First posted
Oct 2, 2023
Registry last updated
May 6, 2026

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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