The Effectiveness of the Situation, Background, Assessment and Recommendations (SBAR) Framework in Improving Patient Safety Outcomes in the Nursing Context

• Published in: Diversity and equality in health and care 2021-01, Vol.18 (9)
• Main Author: Alanood Kateb Kalef Alruwaily
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age groups; Bias; Communication; Culture; Documentation; Evaluation; Handover; Literature reviews; Mortality; Nosocomial infections; Nursing; Patient safety; Peer review; Perceptions; Professional practice; Quality of care; Safety measures
• ISSN: 2049-5471; 2049-548X
• DOI: 10.36648/2049-5471.21.18.262

The Situation, Background, Assessment and Recommendations (SBAR) framework is one of the most common communication tools used in nursing practice but little is known about its specific direct impact upon measures of patient safety. [...]there is a need to address this important knowledge gap to help inform current and future nursing communication and handover practices. Specific improvements in safety outcomes included: reductions in the number of care omissions, the incidence of near-miss and patient safety events, falls, adverse drug events, restraint use and nosocomial infections and even mortality. [...]some studies explored the impact of SBAR upon indirect patient safety measures, which included perceptions that the tool optimised patient safety, as well as inducing improvements to care quality and culture through enhancing communication and documentation quality and sufficiency. [...]it is important that the current NICE guidelines for structured handover better emphasise the value of SBAR in optimising communication and in reducing the risk of communication errors that can compromise patient safety. The Situation, Background, Assessment and Recommendations (SBAR) framework is one of the most common communication tools used in nursing practice but little is known about its specific direct impact upon measures of patient safety. [...]there is a need to address this important knowledge gap to help inform current and future nursing communication and handover practices. Specific improvements in safety outcomes included: reductions in the number of care omissions, the incidence of near-miss and patient safety events, falls, adverse drug events, restraint use and nosocomial infections and even mortality. [...]some studies explored the impact of SBAR upon indirect patient safety measures, which included perceptions that the tool optimised patient safety, as well as inducing improvements to care quality and culture through enhancing communication and documentation quality and sufficiency. [...]it is important that the current NICE guidelines for structured handover better emphasise the value of SBAR in optimising communication and in reducing the risk of communication errors that can compromise patient safety.