Assessing Postoperative Handover Quality Among Nurses Across Surgical and Recovery Units: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare quality improvement
• Nursing practice and patient safety
• Medical communication

Background:

• Inefficient postoperative handovers can lead to medical errors and patient harm.
• Critical patient information is often omitted during transitions of care.
• Standardized and high-quality handovers are crucial for patient well-being.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate and compare the quality of postoperative nurse handovers.
• To assess handovers across different settings: operating rooms, post-anesthesia care units, intensive care units, and general wards.
• To identify factors influencing handover quality in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Main Methods:

• A descriptive, cross-sectional, comparative study design.
• Online questionnaires administered to postoperative care nurses across four hospitals.
• Utilized a Handover Quality Rating Form and collected sociodemographic data.

Main Results:

• Overall postoperative handover quality was 76.8%.
• Handover conduct and quality received the highest scores.
• Female, older, Saudi, and younger nurses showed significant differences in specific handover aspects; educational level and experience correlated with quality.

Conclusions:

• Local evaluation of handover quality is essential, considering context, conduct, and teamwork.
• Standardized handover protocols should be developed for different departments and settings.
• Targeted training programs and unit-specific protocols can enhance handover quality.