Original ArticleAn Observational Study of Postoperative Handover in Anesthetic Clinics; The Content of Verbal Information and Factors Influencing Receiver Memory
Section snippets
Design
A prospective observational study with descriptive and correlational design was used.
Sample and Setting
A convenience sample was used, and all personnel working at the units taking part in handovers between OR and PACU were invited to participate (N = 83). One sender and three receivers declined to participate during handover. Participants were nurse anesthetists, OR nurses, specialist trainee physicians and anesthesiologists as senders, and intensive care nurses and registered nurses as receivers. At seven
Handover at the PACU
The mean duration of verbal handovers was 2 minutes and 22 seconds (range = 20 seconds to 8 minutes and 44 seconds), and the handover mostly occurred between a nurse anesthetist (n = 59 [81%]) as a sender and intensive care nurse (n = 59 [81%]) as a receiver (Table 1). Interruptions occurred at 56 (77%) handovers. The number of interruptions varied, and these mostly involved signals from monitoring equipment (Table 2). At 13 (18%) handovers, an interruption resulted in a break-in-task of at least 10
Discussion
To our knowledge, this is the first study to analyze factors thought to influence receivers' memory during handover at the PACU. The results of bivariate analyses revealed significant associations between the variable remembered information sequences and the variables structure (the number of information sequences reported during an irregular part of the verbal handover), interruptions, and duration of verbal handover. When analyzed using a multiple regression analysis, the model explains 14.1%
Conclusion
It is important to conduct efficient handovers to ensure patient safety, yet very little research has been done to identify best practice.21 Studying handovers in PACUs, we focused on memory and what factors may influence memory to support future work for strategies to improve handovers. Our study suggests that the lack of structure and long duration of the verbal handover influence information retention among receivers of handovers. Thus, a short verbal handover with a clear structure seems to
Acknowledgments
The authors thank Hans Högberg, Statistician, PhD, University of Gävle, Faculty of Health and Occupational Studies for statistical advice. The authors acknowledge all participants for their willingness to participate in this study.
Maria Randmaa, RN, is a lecturer at the Faculty of Health and Occupational Studies, Department of Health and Caring Sciences, University of Gävle, Gävle, Sweden; an Intensive Care Nurse at the Department of Anaesthesia, County Council of Gävleborg, Sweden; and a PhD student at the Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
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2022, Applied Nursing ResearchCitation Excerpt :There is a risk of information omission in bedside handovers. Previous findings showed that about 20 %–47 % of the information transferred was remembered by incoming nurses (Drach-Zahavy et al., 2017; Randmaa et al., 2015). Additionally, new patients would decrease the quality of the handover because more detailed information was called upon to meet the incoming nurse's expectations (Streeter & Harrington, 2017).
ISBAR as a Structured Tool for Patient Handover During Postoperative Recovery
2022, Journal of Perianesthesia NursingCitation Excerpt :Staff concentration on the handover was higher when handover was given without interruption. The study concluded that lack of structure decreased how much the RN will remember.12 A study by Li et al7 also supports that interruptions interfere with memory and should be minimized in workplaces with working memory demands.
Handover Patterns in the PACU: A Review of the Literature
2021, Journal of Perianesthesia NursingCitation Excerpt :Therefore, the omission of valuable information and communication barriers is quite common during PACU handover.8-11 In conclusion, a clear and structured handover mode is one of the most effective ways to help health care workers improve information recall for handover content and therefore improve patient safety.7 The patient is the core of the handover process.
Patient Handover in the PACU: When Less Can Be More
2020, Journal of Perianesthesia NursingPortrayal of the performance of the post-anesthesia care unit, based on the perception of the professional nursing staff
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Maria Randmaa, RN, is a lecturer at the Faculty of Health and Occupational Studies, Department of Health and Caring Sciences, University of Gävle, Gävle, Sweden; an Intensive Care Nurse at the Department of Anaesthesia, County Council of Gävleborg, Sweden; and a PhD student at the Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
Gunilla Mårtensson, PhD, RN, is a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Health and Occupational Studies, Department of Health and Caring Sciences, University of Gävle, Gävle, Sweden; and researcher at the Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden; Maria Engström, PhD, RN, is a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Health and Occupational Studies, Department of Health and Caring Sciences, University of Gävle, Gävle, Sweden; and a researcher and Associate Professor at the Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
Christine Leo Swenne, PhD, RN, is a clinical senior lecturer at the Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
Funding: This work was supported by the Faculty of Health and Occupational Studies, University of Gävle and it was also supported by the County Council Gävleborg. It was also supported by the Patient Insurance LÖF (Landstingens Ömsesidiga Försäkringsbolag) and the Swedish Society of Nursing (Svensk Sjuksköterskeförening), but these organizations had no role in the design and running of the study.
Conflict of interest: None to report.