A systematic review: barriers to hourly rounding.

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Healthcare Management
• Patient Care

Background:

• Hourly rounding is a beneficial intervention for adult inpatient medical and surgical units.
• Despite known benefits, challenges persist in implementing and sustaining hourly rounding practices.
• Hospitals often struggle with sustained hourly rounding initiatives.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify comprehensive barriers impacting the implementation and sustainment of hourly rounding.
• Focus on barriers within adult inpatient medical or surgical units.

Main Methods:

• A literature review was conducted.
• Four databases were searched independently by two reviewers.
• 20 articles were included after screening.

Main Results:

• Key barriers identified include workload issues and burdensome rounding logs.
• Lack of staff buy-in, high patient acuity, and inadequate staff education were also significant barriers.
• A lack of sustainability was a recurring theme across the literature.

Conclusions:

• Identified barriers are perceived by frontline staff performing hourly rounding.
• These barriers may hinder the organization's ability to sustain the hourly rounding process.
• Leaders can use this information to develop strategies to overcome barriers during implementation.