The PACT Project: improving communication at handover
| Autor: | Sally Squire, Eileen Clark, Eileen Petrie, Anne Heyme, Mary-Ellen Mickle |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2008 |
| Předmět: |
Program evaluation
Inservice Training Attitude of Health Personnel media_common.quotation_subject education MEDLINE Personnel Staffing and Scheduling Qualitative property Nursing Staff Hospital Nursing Patient-Centered Care Health care Medical Staff Hospital Medicine Humans Assertiveness Action research Program Development Accreditation media_common Teamwork business.industry Communication Australia General Medicine Continuity of Patient Care business Program Evaluation |
| Zdroj: | The Medical journal of Australia. 190(S11) |
| ISSN: | 0025-729X |
| Popis: | linical handover is a fundamental element of safe patient care. Com- munication between members of the health care team directly affects patient outcomes and the quality of care. Failure of effective communication has been identi- fied as contributing to medication errors, delays in treatment, perinatal mortality and morbidity, patient falls and wrong-site sur- geries. The United States Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organiza- tions (JCAHO) reported in 2004 that com- munication errors were the key contributory factor in over 70% of all sentinel events. In emphasising the serious- ness of this problem, the JCAHO noted that 75% of patients affected by these events died. 1,2 ABSTRACT Objective: To describe and evaluate the PACT (Patient assessment, Assertive communication, Continuum of care, Teamwork with trust) Project, aimed at improving communication between hospital staff at handover. Design, setting and participants: The PACT Project was conducted between April and December 2008 at a medium-sized private hospital in Victoria. Action research was used to implement and monitor the project, with seven nurses acting as a critical reference group. Two communication tools were developed to standardise and facilitate shift-to- shift and nurse-to-doctor communication. Both tools used SBAR (situation, background, assessment, recommendation) principles. All nurses attended workshops on assertive communication strategies and focused clinical assessment of the deteriorating patient. Questionnaires were distributed to nurses and doctors at baseline, and post- implementation questionnaires and qualitative data were collected from nurses immediately after the project. Main outcome measures: Nurses' opinions of improvement in structure and content of handover; nurses' confidence in their communication skills. Results: At baseline, 85% of nurses believed communication needed improvement. After implementation, 68% of nurses believed handover had improved and 80% felt more confident when communicating with doctors. Conclusion: Early evidence supports the use of standardised communication tools for handover, together with specific training in assertive communication and patient |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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