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. 2020 Apr 16;5:3. doi: 10.1186/s41077-020-00121-5

Table 1.

Useful questions for needs analysis and/or reflections and debriefings

People

• Identify all staff who have contact with patients and their relatives. Consider:

 o Consider knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to act in the crisis.

 o All hours and days of the week.

 o All aspects of a hospital stay (diagnosis, treatment, administration, catering, etc.).

 o What should they be able to do?

 o Do they have the right attitude for the work they are doing?

• How many people of different professions do you need for the task, and where do they need to be?

 o Who are your reserves (clinical staff as well as facilitators) if people get ill and how do you activate them?

• Are the people involved clear about the tasks that they need to do? Do they agree with these expectations?

 o Where can they get task-oriented help?

 o Where can they get help on a personal level?

 o What do they do if the situation gets out of control (getting help, escaping, etc.)?

 o What can you do to support them with the emotional strain?

Tasks to be done

• What tasks in relation to diagnosis, interventions, and care need to be prioritised?

 o In preparation of receiving patients

 o During treatment

 o Follow-up

• What are the important tasks beyond the interaction with the patient?

 o Administration

 o Infection control

 o Co-ordination with other people and departments

• How does personal protective equipment (PPE) affect the task?

 o Time for donning and doffing

 o Are there limitations to psychomotor activities?

 o Is sensory input impaired (e.g. do people need to speak louder)?

 o Is there need for additional storage and waste space?

• How do you implement the individual tasks? These aspects are inspired by the Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM) [24]

 o What triggers an action?

 o What is the expected outcome of the action (e.g. more information, a treatment step implemented)?

 o Will the outcome of the task meet its requirements? Is the outcome of too high or low quality compared to the resources available and is it on time?

 o What needs to be done before you can even start the task?

 o What resources are needed whilst the task is running?

 o What is the timeframe (e.g. duration, sequence)?

 o What guidance is there for the task (both official and unofficial practice)? Are different sources of guidance aligned (e.g. do the guidelines reflect clinical practice)?

Context

• Where would patients, relatives, and healthcare professionals meet?

• Will the environment support patients and healthcare professionals psychologically?

• Will the environment support the task? [25]

• Is all equipment available and in the right place?

• How can missing equipment be found?

• What is the backup plan?

• Is it easy for patients, relatives, staff, and potential volunteers to find where they need to go?

General points

Remain vigilant for any issues that come about in relation to managing COVID-19, and consider who you should inform about any possible insights

• Surprises

• Misunderstandings

• Different priorities and wishes between people

• Agreements made and ways to find the agreements

• Challenges of implementing the procedures into practice

• Adaptations and refinements of procedures on the fly

• Equipment needed

• Be resourceful with equipment and material

• Concerns of the healthcare professionals