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.