Dataset Information

Conceptualizing handover strategies at change of shift in the emergency department: a grounded theory study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The importance and complexity of handovers is well-established. Progress for intervening in the emergency department change of shift handovers may be hampered by lack of a conceptual framework. The objectives were to gain a better understanding of strategies used for change of shift handovers in an emergency care setting and to further expand current understanding and conceptualizations.

Methods

Observations, open-ended questions and interviews about handover strategies were collected at a Veteran's Health Administration Medical Center in the United States. All relevant staff in the emergency department was observed; 31 completed open-ended surveys; 10 completed in-depth interviews. The main variables of interest were strategies used for handovers at change of shift and obstacles to smooth handovers.

Results

Of 21 previously identified strategies, 8 were used consistently, 4 were never used, and 9 were used occasionally. Our data support ten additional strategies. Four agent types and 6 phases of the process were identified via grounded theory analysis. Six general themes or clusters emerged covering factors that intersect to define the degree of handover smoothness.

Conclusion

Including phases and agents in conceptualizations of handovers can help target interventions to improve patient safety. The conceptual model also clarifies unique handover considerations for the emergency department setting.

SUBMITTER: Lawrence RH

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2640383 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Conceptualizing handover strategies at change of shift in the emergency department: a grounded theory study.

Lawrence Renée H RH Tomolo Anne M AM Garlisi Andy P AP Aron David C DC

BMC health services research 20081216

<h4>Background</h4>The importance and complexity of handovers is well-established. Progress for intervening in the emergency department change of shift handovers may be hampered by lack of a conceptual framework. The objectives were to gain a better understanding of strategies used for change of shift handovers in an emergency care setting and to further expand current understanding and conceptualizations.<h4>Methods</h4>Observations, open-ended questions and interviews about handover strategies ...[more]

PMID: 19087251

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Project description:BackgroundCOVID-19 necessitated the rapid implementation and uptake of virtual health care; however, virtual care's potential role remains unclear in the urgent care setting. In December 2020, the first virtual emergency department (ED) in the Greater Toronto Area was piloted at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre by connecting patients to emergency physicians through an online portal.ObjectiveThis study aims to understand whether and how ED physicians were able to integrate a virtual ED alongside in-person operations.MethodsWe conducted semistructured interviews with ED physicians guided by the Normalization Process Theory (NPT). The NPT provides a framework to understand how individuals and teams navigate the process of embedding new models of care as part of normal practice. All physicians who had worked within the virtual ED model were invited to participate. Data were analyzed using a combination of inductive and deductive techniques informed by the NPT.ResultsA total of 14 physicians were interviewed. Participant experiences were categorized into 1 of 2 groups: 1 group moved to normalize the virtual ED in practice, while the other described barriers to routine adoption. These groups differed in their perception of the patient benefits as well as the perceived role in the virtual ED. The group that normalized the virtual ED model saw value for patients (coherence) and was motivated by patient satisfaction witnessed (reflexive monitoring) at the end of the virtual appointment. By contrast, the other group did not find virtual ED work reflective of the perceived role of urgent care (cognitive participation) and felt their skills as ED physicians were underutilized. The limited ability to examine patients and a sense that patient issues were not fully resolved at the end of the virtual appointment caused frustration among the second group.ConclusionsAs further digital integration within the health care system occurs, it will be essential to support the evolution of staff skill sets to ensure physicians are satisfied with the care they are providing to their patients, while also ensuring the technology and process are efficient.

Project description:BackgroundPatient handover between prehospital care and the emergency department plays a key role in patient safety. Therefore, we aimed to create a validated tool for measuring quality of communication and interprofessional relations during handover in this specific setting.MethodsBased on a theoretical framework a comprehensive item pool on information transfer and human factors in emergency department handovers was created and refined in a modified Delphi survey involving clinical experts. Based on a pre-test, items were again revised. The resulting Emergency Department Human Factors in Handover tool (ED-HFH) was validated in a field test at the emergency department of a German university hospital from July to December 2017. The ED-HFH was completed by emergency department and ambulance service staff participating in handovers and by an external observer. Description of item characteristics, exploratory factor analysis, analyses on internal consistency and interrater reliability by intraclass-correlation. Construct validity was analysed by correlation with an overall rating on quality of the handover.ResultsThe draft of the ED-HFH contained 24 items, 90 of 102 eligible staff members participated in the field test completing 133 questionnaires on 38 observed handovers. Four items were deleted after analysis of item characteristics. Factor analysis supported a single factor explaining 39% of variance in the items. Therefore, a sum-score was calculated with a possible range between 14 and 70. The median value of the sum-score in the sample was 61.5, Cronbach's α was 0.83, intraclass-correlation was 0.52, the correlation with the overall rating of hand-over quality was ρ = 0.83 (p ≤ 0.001).ConclusionsThe ED-HFH showed its feasibility, reliability and validity as a measure of quality of information transfer and human factors in handovers between ambulance services and the emergency department. It promises to be a useful tool for quality assurance and staff training.

Dataset Information

Conceptualizing handover strategies at change of shift in the emergency department: a grounded theory study.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Conceptualizing handover strategies at change of shift in the emergency department: a grounded theory study.

Similar Datasets

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