Implementation and Evaluation of the SBAR Communication Model in Nursing Handover by Pediatric Surgery Nurses

Purpose

Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendations (SBAR) is recommended as a standardized model to improve communication between health professionals and increase patient safety. Correct use of the SBAR model reduces communication errors, facilitates rapid decision-making, and increases patient safety. Therefore, effective use of the SBAR model among health care professionals contributes to safer patients. This study examines the implementation and evaluation of the SBAR communication model in nursing handover by pediatric surgical nurses.

Design

The study had a pretest-post-test semi-experimental design.

Methods

Data were collected between April 1 and June 30, 2022 from 24 nurses, who worked at two pediatric surgery units of a training research hospital in Turkey. Ethical approval and written informed consent were obtained prior to the study.

Findings

The mean age of the nurses was 26.00 ± 3.43 years and 75% were female. The mean score obtained from the handover rating scale was 60.33 ± 11.11 (18 to 70). The pretest and post-test scores obtained from the SBAR communication model questionnaire were 60.00 ± 20.64 (20 to 90) and 92.50 ± 9.89 (60 to 100), respectively. 66.7% of the nurses answered no to the statement “Using the SBAR communication model did not contribute positively to the handover.” The majority answered yes to the items other than this statement, the ratio of those who answered yes and no to the statement “The SBAR communication model caused me to waste time during the handover” was equal, and the majority completed the SBAR handover form.

Conclusions

Some of the nurses felt that the SBAR communication model made a positive contribution to shift performance, while others felt that it did not. Although half of the nurses considered the SBAR communication model to be a waste of time, it was observed that no negative events occurred during the use of the model and that the nurses were willing to use the SBAR communication model. Therefore, it is recommended that in-service training programs be organized to increase the use of the SBAR communication model and that the use of SBAR should be continuously reviewed and improved.