Perspectives of Patient Handover among Paramedics and Emergency Department Members; a Qualitative Study.

Abstract

Improving patient handover is currently considered as a patient safety goal and one of the top five WHO priorities. So, the aim of this study was to explore the perspectives of patient handover among paramedics and emergency department staff. This is a descriptive exploratory study with a qualitative content analysis approach. Twenty five paramedics and emergency department staff were selected through purposeful sampling. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews in 2015 and Qualitative Content Analysis was used to analyze the data. One main theme and two major categories emerged through the data analysis. In general, data analysis indicated that patient handover is a sophisticated process, which is an encounter between two separate peninsulas with different extrinsic (different environments and different equipment) and intrinsic factors (different manpower and different expectations). Designing an appropriate environment, providing adequate equipment, recruiting appropriate manpower, and clarifying the expectations are some strategies for improving patient handover conditions.