Adaptation and implementation of the Batz guide for bedside advocacy in two hospitals

The patients' guide by the Batz Patient Safety Foundation promotes patients' active participation in healthcare and a safe hospital experience.

The aim was to adapt the Spanish version of the guide to the local context and evaluate its acceptability from healthcare professionals' and patients' perspectives in two hospitals in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

This implementation study had a formative research phase to adapt the guide with input from individual interviews and focus group discussions. The intervention comprised training sessions for professionals on patient-centered care and use of the guide, the appointment of coordinators, and distribution of the guide. The adapted guide (section During Admission) was distributed in two hospitals. Before and after intervention, we administered surveys to explore acceptability, utility, and patient satisfaction.

Findings from formative research showed that the Batz guide needed to be shortened and adapted to the local healthcare context Although professionals had agreed on the importance of clinical guidelines; after using the Batz guide, they found it complex and difficult to implement. Patients' satisfaction with healthcare before and after implementing the guide did not differ significantly. Best scores were found in items related to availability of nurses, staff competence and staff kindness. A 78% of patients found the Batz guide useful.

It is of critical importance to adapt the guide to the local culture, pilot it, and provide training to promote its implementation, improving acceptability and utility.