A Meta-Analysis of Crew Resource Management/Incident Command Systems Implementation Studies in the Fire and Emergency Services

This research is a meta-analysis of studies on Crew Resource Management (CRM)/Incident Command System implementation in the fire and emergency services. After a thorough literature review, four sets of results were analyzed to determine if CRM training was effective. An aggregate total of 283 test scores were evaluated. The data indicated that CRM training was effective in all studies analyzed. Fixed and random effects models indicated significance as well. The studies had a high degree of heterogeneity probably due to different training and testing procedures used. The data support the use of CRM training in the fire and emergency services. There is evidence for the need for ongoing CRM training as well. Recommendations include designing CRM training with both initial and recurring sessions to ensure internalization of CRM concepts. Future research should also focus on studies with course outcome measures such as pre and post test scores.