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The Characteristics of High-Performance Teams for Infectious Disease Responses: An AUSMAT Team Leader’s Perspective

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 May 2025

Abigail Trewin ,
Nicholas Walsh ,
Anita Heywood  and
Adam Craig
Abigail Trewin
Affiliation:
National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Nicholas Walsh
Affiliation:
National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
Anita Heywood
Affiliation:
University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Adam Craig
Affiliation:
University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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Abstract

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Background/Introduction:

Evaluating high-performance work practices and characteristics of Emergency Medical Teams (EMTs) in frontline quarantine and infectious disease control systems is crucial. Such evaluations not only minimize future risks to staff but also significantly enhance responses to crises. During the COVID-19 pandemic, AUSMAT conducted high-risk missions without any transmission to or between staff, despite including non-AUSMAT-trained personnel and the critical failures recorded in other quarantine operations within Australia.

Objectives:

This study takes a unique approach to identifying the barriers and facilitators of EMTs’ high-performance work practices, the team characteristics that support implementation, and their impact on team functionality, success, failure, and risk management.

Method/Description:

A purposive sample of 19 AUSMAT members who held AUSMAT leadership roles for at least fourteen days during the COVID-19 responses from 2020 to 2022 was selected. These AUSMAT Team Leaders, with their real-world experiences, provided invaluable insights for this study.

Results/Outcomes:

The preliminary findings of this study underscore the practical implications of specific high-performance characteristics. These include the importance of a precautionary approach, temporal stability of team members, command and control structures, shared leadership, and decentralized decision-making.

Conclusion:

The study highlights how these characteristics can significantly impact performance, emphasizing the importance of tailored work practices and supportive team characteristics in enhancing EMT functionality and managing risks effectively.

Information

Type
Meeting Abstracts
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 40 , Supplement S1: Abstracts of the World Health Organization (WHO) 6th Emergency Medical Teams (EMT) Global Meeting 2024 , May 2025 , pp. s46
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine