Developing a sociocultural framework of compliance: an exploration of factors related to the use of early warning systems among acute care clinicians

BACKGROUND: Early warning systems (EWS) are most effective when clinicians monitor patients’ vital signs and comply with the recommended escalation of care protocols once deterioration is recognised. OBJECTIVES: To explore sociocultural factors influencing acute care clinicians’ compliance with an early warning system commonly used in Queensland public hospitals in Australia. METHODS: This interpretative qualitative study utilised inductive thematic analysis to analyse data collected from semi-structured interviews conducted with 30 acute care clinicians from Queensland, Australia. RESULTS: This study identified that individuals and teams approached compliance with EWS in the context of 1) the use of EWS for patient monitoring; and 2) the use of EWS for the escalation of patient care. Individual and team compliance with monitoring and escalation processes is facilitated by intra and inter-professional factors such as acceptance and support, clear instruction, inter-disciplinary collaboration and good communication. Noncompliance with EWS can be attributed to intra and inter-professional hierarchy and poor communication. CONCLUSIONS: The overarching organisational context including the hospital’s embedded quality improvement and administrative protocols (training, resources and staffing) impact hospital-wide culture and influence clinicians’ and teams’ compliance or non-compliance with early warning system’s monitoring and escalation processes. Successful adoption of EWS relies on effective and meaningful interactions among multidisciplinary staff.