Understanding best practice within nurse intershift handover: what suits palliative care?

Abstract

Following identifi cation of the limitation of nurse intershift handover within a specialist palliative care unit, a review of the research literature is undertaken. The aim is to identify and appraise what is known about best practice within nurse intershift handover and evaluate the implications for practice within a specialist palliative care inpatient unit. The retrieval of literature identifi ed 19 pertinent research papers which were critically analyzed. Three main themes emerged within the literature: purpose; type; and content of handover. Only two studies had been carried out within a generalist palliative care context; however, fi ve sub-categories emerged that may be signifi cant in meeting the demands of specialist palliative nursing. These were: clinical decision-making; staff support; maintaining confi dentiality while handling sensitive information; patient involvement; and type of information exchange. All themes are presented within this article. The literature review suggests that traditional verbal nursing handover may be the most advantageous handover method within inpatient specialist palliative care, though attention to structure and focus is vital.

A systematic review on the structured handover interventions between nurses in improving patient safety outcomes

“…Additionally, measures for nurse‐related outcomes demonstrated improvement, with enhanced continuity of care for patients through better compliance to plans of care, timely delivery of care and improved recall of information provided (Smeulers, Lucas, & Vermeulen, ). As such, nursing handover is a crucial instrument which ensures the patients receive continuity of care throughout their entire stay in ward, especially since nurses are the ones by the patients’ side both day and night (Messam & Pettifer, ). In addition, nurses often act as coordinators between the various healthcare professionals for increasingly complex patient treatment plans (Fitzpatrick, ).…”

Research on nursing handoffs for medical and surgical settings: an integrative review

“…). However, readers may and reviewers have (Hays , Strople & Ottani , Messam & Pettifer , Riesenberg et al . , Matic et al .…”

“…At least eight reviews on nursing handoffs are available (See supporting information Table S1 in the online version of the article in Wiley Online Library), (Hays 2003, Strople & Ottani 2006, Arora et al 2009, Messam & Pettifer 2009, Cohen & Hilligoss 2010, Patterson & Wears 2010, Riesenberg et al 2010, Matic et al 2011. These reviews add to our knowledge but gaps in the research remain.…”

“…A research focus on specific contexts (e.g. medical surgical) is then paramount because understanding contextually based handoff information is a prerequisite for successful computerization (Messam & Pettifer 2009, Staggers et al 2011.…”

“…Perceptual study results are largely based upon survey instruments without established psychometrics (Riesenberg et al 2010). However, readers may and reviewers have (Hays 2003, Strople & Ottani 2006, Messam & Pettifer 2009, Riesenberg et al 2010, Matic et al 2011 weighed findings from these less formal reports equally with the findings from more formal ones.…”