Impact of the “Mind the risk” Campaign of Sociedade Brasileira de Ortopedia e Traumatologia on Risk Perception and Use of the Surgical Checklist by Brazilian Orthopedists

Objective To analyze the impact of the educational actions included in the “Mind the Risk” campaign of Sociedade Brasileira de Traumatologia e Ortopedia (Brazilian Society of Traumatology and Orthopedics, SBOT, in Portuguese), to increase the perception of the risk involved in the surgical activity and the use of the surgical checklist. Methods A comparative research was performed during the 50th Brazilian Congress on Orthopedics and Traumatology (50° CBOT, in Portuguese) in November 2018, using a questionnaire similar to the one used in previous two versions. Results The number of participants was 730, corresponding to 18,7% of the total of 3,903 enrolled in the 50° CBOT. Among the participants, 542 orthopedists (74,2%) reported having experienced errors within the surgical units and 218 (29,8%) surgeries in wrong sites. In total, 624 participants (85,5%) reported marking the surgical site and 402 (55%) using the surgical checklist systematically. Conclusion In the sample studied, it was evidenced that SBOT's efforts to disseminate the World Health Organization (WHO) protocol were effective, reducing the number of orthopedists who were unaware of it from 65.3% (in 2012) to 20.7% (in 2018), and expanding its use. In 2018, 402 participants (55%) reported the systematic use of the protocol, compared with 301 (40,8%) in 2014. These data confirm the need for educational campaigns and systematic training, not only to promote behavioral change, but especially a cultural change.