Integration of Person-Centered Narratives Into the Electronic Health Record: Study Protocol.
Heather Coats, Nadia Shive, Ardith Z Doorenbos and 1 others
PMID 32740306WHAT IT FOUND
No outcome results are reported for a trial adding a patient's first-person illness story to the electronic health record.
So far, 21 patients enrolled and 20 completed.
Key findings
01The planned trial will randomize 80 patients to a narrative intervention or usual care and enroll 80 nurses.
02Preliminary recruitment is 53 patients approached, 21 enrolled, and 20 completed; 16 nurses screened and 15 enrolled.
03The intervention creates a first-person patient narrative intended to be read in 5 minutes or less and uploaded to the EHR.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The paper is a protocol. It reports planned methods and recruitment, not primary or secondary outcome results. The paper says blinding to the intervention is not feasible. The planned follow-up is very short. It is 24 to 48 hours after baseline and then 24 to 48 hours later. The preliminary sample is small: 21 patients enrolled, 20 completed, and 15 nurses enrolled. The intervention is created and uploaded by research personnel, not by bedside nurses. The paper does not show how nurses would deliver it in routine care. The planned sample is sized to detect a small effect. A null or modest result may be hard to interpret for everyday practice.
Declared interests
The authors report no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this protocol as evidence that adding a patient narrative to the electronic health record improves nurse-patient communication or patient care. No outcome results are reported, and the preliminary numbers describe recruitment only.