Implementing bedside handover: strategies for change management.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Practice
• Healthcare Management
• Patient Safety

Background:

• Bedside handover emphasizes patient-centred care, involving patients in communication for better care planning.
• Patient participation in handover reduces fragmented care, adverse events, readmissions, and service duplication, while improving satisfaction and continuity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify factors influencing the transition from taped/verbal nursing handover to bedside handover in two Australian hospitals.
• To inform the development of a standard operating protocol for bedside handover communication.

Main Methods:

• A change management analysis was conducted within a larger study.
• Data involved 532 semi-structured observations and 34 in-depth interviews with nursing staff across six wards in two hospitals.
• Thematic analysis combined observation and interview data to identify influencing factors.

Main Results:

• Key themes included integrating the change into a larger vision, linking it to standardization, ensuring safety and quality, resolving logistical issues, and fostering active listening.
• Successful change is more likely when part of a broader quality improvement strategy.

Conclusions:

• Nurses support quality improvement and standardization initiatives.
• Effective change management requires understanding clinicians' attitudes, motivations, concerns, and need for reassurance, especially during significant practice shifts like moving to bedside handover.