Polish Perspective: The Influence of National Emergency Severity Index Training on Triage Practitioners’ Knowledge

Introduction

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of the national government initiative Emergency Severity Index version 4.0 validated triage training on triage practitioners’ knowledge and accuracy.

Methods

This pre/post intervention study evaluated the knowledge of triage practitioners, who constituted 30% of employees trained by the national program, in 74 emergency departments across Poland in 2020. Statistical analysis was used to evaluate the impact of the triage training.

Results

No significant differences in triage knowledge were found based on experience, length of ED service, or previous training. Training resulted in increased accuracy (61.3% vs 81.1%) and decreased overtriage and undertriage. Participants significantly reduced errors and improved Emergency Severity Index guideline–based case evaluations, especially for Emergency Severity Index 1-3 cases, with the most notable improvements observed among those without prior triage experience. The training significantly improved interrater reliability.

Discussion

The Emergency Severity Index pilot training demonstrated a significant improvement in the accuracy of triage practitioners. Emergency Severity Index level 4 has been identified as a challenging area to learn, as well as yielding promising results in the acquisition of knowledge across levels 1 and 2, among less experienced practitioners.