“That wasn't handed over” – Challenges of nursing handover in acute care hospitals
Session
Medicine and Nursing
Description
In many hospitals, the importance of nursing handover is still not sufficiently recognized. Without a standardized procedure, it is carried out in an unstructured manner, which promotes disruptions and loss of information. The WHO recommends standardized and structured handover communication according to the SBAR scheme in order to convey content in a focused manner and avoid errors. The aim of this study is to highlight the inadequate handling of this issue on the basis of researched literature and a quantitative investigation of the handover structure. The results of a survey show that, contrary to the WHO recommendation, more than half of the nursing staff surveyed do not use either a standardized or a structured handover. It also becomes clear how little attention is paid to the topic in ward organization, even though a standardized and structured handover has a positive influence on nursing care from a nursing perspective.
Keywords:
hospital, nursing staff, handover, standard, standardized nursing handover, adapted SBAR scheme
Proceedings Editor
Edmond Hajrizi
ISBN
978-9951-982-41-2
Location
UBT Lipjan, Kosovo
Start Date
25-10-2025 9:00 AM
End Date
26-10-2025 6:00 PM
DOI
10.33107/ubt-ic.2025.362
Recommended Citation
Hetemi, Blerim; Borger, Johanna; and Wiegand, Julia, "“That wasn't handed over” – Challenges of nursing handover in acute care hospitals" (2025). UBT International Conference. 7.
https://knowledgecenter.ubt-uni.net/conference/2025UBTIC/MN/7
“That wasn't handed over” – Challenges of nursing handover in acute care hospitals
UBT Lipjan, Kosovo
In many hospitals, the importance of nursing handover is still not sufficiently recognized. Without a standardized procedure, it is carried out in an unstructured manner, which promotes disruptions and loss of information. The WHO recommends standardized and structured handover communication according to the SBAR scheme in order to convey content in a focused manner and avoid errors. The aim of this study is to highlight the inadequate handling of this issue on the basis of researched literature and a quantitative investigation of the handover structure. The results of a survey show that, contrary to the WHO recommendation, more than half of the nursing staff surveyed do not use either a standardized or a structured handover. It also becomes clear how little attention is paid to the topic in ward organization, even though a standardized and structured handover has a positive influence on nursing care from a nursing perspective.