Stakeholder Perspectives on Evaluating Emergency Medical Teams Deployments

Abstract Objective A standardized framework for evaluating Emergency Medical Teams (EMT) deployments is currently lacking. This study aimed to identify evaluation practices and elucidate stakeholder perspectives on evaluating EMT deployments. Methods Qualitative interviews were conducted with seventeen participants from all World Health Organization regions, including EMT members, researchers, funders, EMT deploying organizations, and host governments. Thematic analysis using Braun and Clarke’s 6-step process was applied to generate data-driven codes and themes. Results Participants generally agreed on the importance of evaluating EMT deployments and sharing lessons learned to establish best practices. Participants recommended that evaluations be carried out externally for objectivity, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative data. They highlighted that voices of local stakeholders are essential but often overlooked. Participants identified evaluation areas which could be used to develop a comprehensive evaluation framework, which included leadership, partner coordination, information management and planning, health operations and technical expertise, operations support and logistics, and finance and administration. Conclusions Stakeholders generally recognized the value of establishing a standardized evaluation framework for EMT deployments to enable sharing of best practices and learning for improvement. Further research should prioritize identifying evaluation priorities, with next steps being piloting in both training and deployment settings.