Bedside handover at the change of nursing shift: A mixed-methods study

Area of Science:

• Nursing Practice
• Patient Safety
• Healthcare Communication

Background:

• Nursing shift handover is critical but risky and time-consuming.
• Effective patient information transfer is vital for continuity of care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the structures, processes, and content of bedside handover.
• To analyze nurse-patient interactions during shift changes.

Main Methods:

• Convergent parallel mixed-methods design.
• Audio-recorded and observed 30 bedside handover episodes.
• Content analysis of audio recordings and triangulation of data.

Main Results:

• Bedside handover is fast-paced, involving complex information exchange.
• Dialogue is often nurse-dominated, with outgoing nurses influencing patient participation.
• Significant nurse-patient interactions occur during handover.

Conclusions:

• Bedside handover involves outgoing nurse, incoming nurse, and patient.
• Verbal and nonverbal communication skills facilitate rapid information sharing for patient care continuity.
• Findings offer insights for nurse education and practice development.