Patient, family and nurse experiences with patient presence during hand-off reports within hospitals: A systematic review.

Abstract

Review question/objective The overall objective of this systematic review is to synthesise the best available evidence on the experiences, beliefs, opinions, and desires of patients, families and nurses with regard to patient presence during hand-off reports. In meeting this objective, this review will consider the following review questions: 1.What are the expressed experiences of patients, families and nurses about patient presence during hand-off reports? 2.What do patients, families, and nurses believe are the advantages and disadvantages of patient presence during hand-off reports? 3.What are the circumstances that influence (prevent or allow) patient and family involvement in hand-off reports? 4.How much involvement in hand-off report do patients and families desire? Inclusion criteria Types of participants The review will consider studies that include patients, families, and nurses' experiences of patient presence during hand-off reports, or patients, families, and nurses' beliefs, opinions, and desires related to patient presence during hand-off reports. All patients will be included regardless of age, health condition, reason for the hospital admission, or experiences with hand-off reports. Families will include any individual or group identified as family within the materials under review. Nurses will include all licensed nurses including registered nurses, practical nurses, nursing assistants, nurse researchers, and advanced practice nurses. Studies and texts presenting emergency department and operating room settings will be excluded. The former, because they may not include patients that are admitted to hospital, and the latter, due to the level of consciousness. Types of intervention(s)/phenomena of interest The qualitative component of this review will consider studies that investigate the experiences of patients, families and nurses pertaining to patient presence during hand-off reports. The quantitative component of the review will include surveys of beliefs, opinions, views that answer review questions two, three and four. The textual component of this review will consider publications that describe the experiences, beliefs, opinions, views of patients, families and nurses of patient presence during hand-off reports. For this systematic review hand-off reports are defined as transfer of information amongst health care providers between shifts. Patient presence is defined as hand-off reports that transpire while the patient is in attendance.