Leadership Training in Health Care Action Teams: A Systematic Review

Purpose To identify and describe the design, implementation, and evidence of effectiveness of leadership training interventions for health care action (HCA) teams, defined as interdisciplinary teams whose members coordinate their actions in time-pressured, unstable situations. Method The authors conducted a systematic search of the PubMed/MEDLINE, CINAHL, ERIC, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and Web of Science databases, key journals, and review articles published through March 2012. They identified peer-reviewed English-language articles describing leadership training interventions targeting HCA teams, at all levels of training and across all health care professions. Reviewers, working in duplicate, abstracted training characteristics and outcome data. Methodological quality was evaluated using the Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument (MERSQI). Results Of the 52 included studies, 5 (10%) focused primarily on leadership training, whereas the remainder included leadership training as part of a larger teamwork curriculum. Few studies reported using a team leadership model (2; 4%) or a theoretical framework (9; 17%) to support their curricular design. Only 15 studies (29%) specified the leadership behaviors targeted by training. Forty-five studies (87%) reported an assessment component; of those, 31 (69%) provided objective outcome measures including assessment of knowledge or skills (21; 47%), behavior change (8; 18%), and patient-or system-level metrics (8; 18%). The mean MERSQI score was 11.4 (SD 2.9). Conclusions Leadership training targeting HCA teams has become more prevalent. Determining best practices in leadership training is confounded by variability in leadership definitions, absence of supporting frameworks, and a paucity of robust assessments.