Participatory action research and action learning: changing clinical practice in nursing handover and communication

Abstract

Combining participatory action research (PAR) and action learning (AL) is an effective mechanism for healthcare practitioners who wish to change clinical practice: The outcome of a study on nursing handover and multi-disciplinary communication. Traditionally verbal handovers are lengthy and time consuming resulting in nurses spending an unacceptable time away from patient care. They lack structure and the information presented is often repetitive, incomplete, inadequate, or incorrect and therefore does not always present sufficient information to plan appropriate patient care. The primary purpose of this study was to review the effectiveness of the traditional nursing handover (in one clinical unit) with the aim of developing and implementing evidence-based strategies that would improve practice. In addition, this study aims to highlight the appropriateness and effectiveness of using PAR and AL within ePD. The results of the project indicated early adoption by nursing and medical staff of a database tool developed to assist handover. This improved multi-disciplinary communication, increased staff satisfaction, focussed staff on discharge planning and problem solving as well as reducing the time spent in handover. There remained however, areas for improvement and these were identified in order to begin the next rotation of the PAR cycle. This study suggests that by combining PAR with AL clinicians not only succeeded in changing handover practice but were then able to take what they learned and use it to further develop projects within the unit. It is therefore important to consider carefully the process by which knowledge utilisation takes place in order to ensure that learning is an intended outcome rather than an unexpected consequence of participation.

Recognising our role: improved confidence of general nurses providing care to young people with a mental illness in a rural paediatric unit

“…Improvements in this relationship is evident by increased frequency of visits by CYMHS case managers to the paediatric unit and a perception by paediatric nurses that the care plans for young people with a mental illness are clearer. Improved communication between services as an outcome of action research is described by others (Wilson et al. 2005, 2007).…”

“…2000). A PAR approach was used by Wilson et al. (2007) to develop and implement evidence‐based strategies for nursing handover.…”

The Family Education Diabetes Series (FEDS): community‐based participatory research with a midwestern American Indian community

“…2004, 10; Torre and Fine 2005, 221; Baum, MacDougall, and Smith 2006, 854; Byrne and Sahay 2006, 71; Braithwaite et al. 2007, 61; Pyrch 2007, 199; Wilson, Ho, and Walsh 2007, 85; Cammarota and Fine 2008, 1; Classen et al. 2008, 2402).…”

La investigación acción participativa en procesos de desarrollo comunitario: una experiencia de cooperación interuniversitaria en el barrio de Jesús María, La Habana Vieja (Cuba)

“…En este sentido, la IAP promueve la conexión entre la reflexión y la acción como proceso continúo donde los participantes aprenden de sus propias experiencias, lo que les permite tomar la propiedad del cambio (Wilson, Ho & Walsh, 2007).…”

“…In this regard, PAR promotes a link between reflection and action as a continuous process where participants learn from their own experiences, which allows them to take change into their own hands (Wilson, Ho & Walsh, 2007).…”