Developing a National Trauma Research Action Plan: Results from the prehospital and mass casualty research Delphi survey.
The journal of trauma and acute care surgery · 2021-11-19 · Method & validation
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 2016 trauma system report recommended a National Trauma Research Action Plan to strengthen and guide future trauma research. To address this recommendation, 11 expert panels completed a Delphi survey process to create a comprehensive research agenda, spanning the continuum of trauma care. We describe the gap analysis and high-priority research questions generated from the National Trauma Research Action Plan panel on prehospital and mass casualty trauma care. METHODS: We recruited interdisciplinary national experts to identify gaps in the prehospital and mass casualty trauma evidence base and generate prioritized research questions using a consensus-driven Delphi survey approach. We included military and civilian representatives. Panelists were encouraged to use the Patient/Population, Intervention, Compare/Control, and Outcome format to generate research questions. We conducted four Delphi rounds in which participants generated key research questions and then prioritized the questions on a 9-point Likert scale to low-, medium-, and high-priority items. We defined consensus as ≥60% agreement on the priority category and coded research questions using a taxonomy of 118 research concepts in 9 categories. RESULTS: Thirty-one interdisciplinary subject matter experts generated 490 research questions, of which 433 (88%) reached consensus on priority. The rankings of the 433 questions were as follows: 81 (19%) high priority, 339 (78%) medium priority, and 13 (3%) low priority. Among the 81 high-priority questions, there were 46 taxonomy concepts, including health systems of care (36 questions), interventional clinical trials and comparative effectiveness (32 questions), mortality as an outcome (30 questions), prehospital time/transport mode/level of responder (24 questions), system benchmarks (17 questions), and fluid/blood product resuscitation (17 questions). CONCLUSION: This Delphi gap analysis of prehospital and mass casualty care identified 81 high-priority research questions to guide investigators and funding agencies for future trauma research.
Abstract © the authors or publisher, via PubMed. Reuse and removal
Tags
Military & tactical · Research methods & trial conduct
Related articles
- Tactical emergency casualty care?pediatric appendix: novel guidelines for the care of the pediatric casualty in the high-threat, prehospital environment. (J Spec Oper Med, 2013)
- Developing a National Trauma Research Action Plan: Results from the trauma systems and informatics panel Delphi survey. (J Trauma Acute Care Surg, 2023)
- Mass casualty incidents with multiple burn victims: rationale for a Swiss burn plan. (Burns, 2010)
- Triage and air evacuation strategy for mass casualty events: a model based on combat experience. (Mil Med, 2011)
- Trauma Systems in Conflict Zones: A Qualitative Study of Field Operational Requirements in Humanitarian Care. (World J Surg, 2026)
- Triage in major incidents: development and external validation of novel machine learning-derived primary and secondary triage tools. (Emerg Med J, 2024)