Patient Perception of Involvement in Nursing Bedside Handover: A Cross-Sectional Study.
Manonita Ghosh, Kaoru Nosaka, Rosemary Saunders and 5 others
PMID 39996386WHAT IT FOUND
Most patients felt informed and trusted nurses during bedside handover, but few felt actively involved.
Patients reported nurses rarely asked for their opinions, handovers often happened outside the room or while they slept, and many were unaware they could participate.
Key findings
01Patients rated feeling that nurses acted in their best interest and providing accurate information highest, but rated opportunities to discuss difficult situations and have their opinions asked lowest.
02A significant minority of comments indicated patients were unaware they could participate or were never asked, and handovers often occurred outside the room or at times when patients were asleep.
03Male participants reported significantly higher agreement than female participants that nurses asked for their opinions and that they could clarify information.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The survey was conducted in English only, potentially underrepresenting patients from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Response rates were low (32.4% at the private hospital and 5.4% at the public hospital), introducing possible self-selection bias. The study relied on staff to distribute surveys, which may have contributed to the differing response rates between hospitals. The study did not verify if bedside handovers actually occurred as mandated by policy, relying solely on patient perception. Results may not be generalisable to other healthcare settings due to the specific policies and structures of the two participating hospitals.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the high satisfaction scores as evidence that patients are actively involved in care decisions. The study found that while patients felt informed and trusted nurses, they rarely felt their opinions were sought or that they could discuss difficult clinical situations, indicating a gap between passive receipt of information and active participation.