Factors Affecting Surgical Time-Out Protocol Implementation and Its Relationship With Intraoperative Errors: Basis for Policy and Program Enhancement

This descriptive-correlational, cross-sectional study examined the factors affecting surgical time-out protocol implementation and their relationship with intraoperative errors among 52 operating room personnel in selected government and private Level 1 hospitals in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, through total enumeration and a 50-item self-administered questionnaire. More than half the respondents (53.8%) lacked formal WHO Surgical Safety Checklist training. Factors affecting implementation were Favorable overall (M = 2.77), and the time-out was Partially Implemented (M = 3.30); errors were infrequent (M = 1.46), though 16 of 57 reported (28%) were serious. Factors were moderately and positively associated with implementation (r = .466, p < .001), driven by team-related (r = .455) and organizational (r = .424) factors, while implementation was moderately and negatively associated with error frequency (r = −.364, p = .008). A findings-based training program was proposed.