Implementation and adoption of SOAP-M and SBAR at a German anesthesiology department - a single-center survey study

Checklists are a common tool used in order to mitigate risks caused by human factors and can facilitate the safe induction of anesthesia as well as handovers. SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation) is a checklist recommended by the WHO and DGAI for handovers, while SOAP-M (Suction, Oxygen, Airway, Pharmaceuticals, Monitoring) is a checklist for the induction of anesthesia. This study investigates the implementation and adoption of these two checklists.

We conducted a single-center online survey one year after the implementation of SOAP-M and SBAR at a university hospital's anesthesiology department, using scales from three validated questionnaires to assess safety attitudes as well as the behavior of staff and the perceived usefulness of the checklists.

Staff with a high score in general attitude towards patient safety, as determined by the safety attitudes questionnaire, considered both checklists useful additions to their work environment. Nurses and physicians (p = 0.102) as well as groups divided according to work experience (p = 0.077) showed no significant differences in using SOAP-M and SBAR. Perceived usefulness was significantly higher (p < 0.001) among users of the checklists, and the same goes for positive reinforcement (p < 0.001), social cues (p = 0.0215) and goal cues (p = 0.0252).

SOAP-M and SBAR are perceived as useful checklists for patient handovers and anesthesia induction by tertiary referral hospital's employees with high score in general safety attitude and were therefore commonly used one year after their introduction. No significant difference in checklist adoption between occupations as well as groups divided according to work experience could be found. Perceived usefulness is significantly higher among users of the checklist, who feel using the checklists provides more support.