Factors Affecting Nurses’ Experiences Related to Current Handover Process between Emergency Department and In-patient Units

Abstract

Handover process is fundamental and crucial component of patient safety care.Communication failure constitutes a major source of medical mistakes or sentinel events. So the study aimed to assess factors affecting nurses' experiences related to current handover process between emergency department and in-patient units.A cross-section, correlational design was used. The study was conducted at Tanta University Emergency Hospital, (60) nurses were included. One Structured Questionnaire was used; including three parts Nursing Satisfaction with Handover, Current Handover Process Quality, and Information Inventory Provided in Current Handover Process. (33.3%) of the nurses reported they rarely had opportunity to ask questions and to clarify information during handover process. (77%) of them were dissatisfied with the current handover process. (30%) reported they experienced error during handover process due to ineffective communication. (45% and 31%) of the nurses viewed that providing accurate and honest information and availability of structured standardized process is important to improve handover process. 49.9% of the nurses viewed they did not provide total information during handover process So, we recommended establishing standardized tools according to ED context and each inpatient unit to optimize the quality of handover process, and conduct training programs to enhance nurses' satisfaction by helping them to gain knowledge and apply tools to manage the intricate nature of handover process.