Communication Issue in Workplace and Efficacy of ISBAR - Research Paper Example

Communication Issue in Workplace Name Tutor Course Date Communication Issue in Workplace Introduction Communication is a critical aspect of health care practice and patient care and poor communication is a source of error in any healthcare setting (Jorm, 2009). To eliminate risks to critical incidents that result from poor communications during handover, the World Health Organisation (ACSQHC, 2011) recommended that strategies that should be adopted to ensure that healthcare settings adopt standardized approach to handover communication between healthcare providers; change of shifts; and also between different patient care units during patient transfer (ACSQHC, 2010). One of the recommended aspects of the approach consisted of using ISBAR (Introduction, Situation, Background, Assessment and Recommendation) technique. A study by McMurray et al (2011) indicated that there are inadequate studies regarding effective communication during transfer of patient information. Therefore, this study aims at finding out the effect of the ISBAR handover technique on healthcare providers’ handover communication. Study Background Communication is a fundamental element of all areas of health care delivery (Clark, 2009). As studies indicate, communication skills for healthcare providers tend to focus on communication with patients but do not give much attention to communication between healthcare providers (Thompson, 2011). The ability of healthcare providers to communicate and share their concerns with each other is extremely important. According to Clark (2009) about 60 percent of the critical incidents that result to harm or death are as a result of poor communication between a team of healthcare members. Additionally, inadequate and poor communication causes numerous inefficiencies and frustrations that are hard to reckon during delivery of health care. One way of improving communication between healthcare providers has been introduction of structured communication techniques in healthcare settings (Clark, 2009). The most common technique is the ISBAR tool that represents a standardized approach to communication and can be utilized within any situation and this includes communication in healthcare settings and more importantly emergency situations (Marshall et al, 2012). Study Objective To investigate the effect of the ISBAR handover tool on healthcare providers handover communication in a Saudi Arabia hospital and how ISBAR tool reduces errors that lead to critical incidents. Study Justification Poor communication in a healthcare setting can harm patients and also make work hard for healthcare providers. Incident and complaint data demonstrate that poor communication results to adverse events (Thompson, 2011). Evidence indicates that using a standardized communication tool such as ISBAR can help in transferring information especially during emergency situations (Sahlsten, 2009). ISBAR organizes communication into the fundamental components during transfer of information from one source to another. Efficacy of ISBAR has been demonstrated in communication transfer in clinical as well as non-clinical situations (Thompson, 2011). Literature Review According to ACSQHC (2011) effective clinical handover lowers communication errors among healthcare providers and also enhances patient care delivery and patient safety. This is in line with Marshall et al (2012) who argues that poor clinical handovers can have adverse effects on patients. It can cause delays in diagnosis or treatment, missing or duplication of assessments and can also result to administration of erroneous treatment or medication. As per Chaboyer et al (2007) poor communication contributes to 70 percent of sentinel incidents that occur every time transfer of a patient occurs between units, doctors and healthcare teams as well. In Saudi Arabian health care system, millions of handovers take place every year. Handover occurs when healthcare providers change shifts, during transfer of patients between wards or health services, referral as well as during discharge (Sahlsten, 2009). Transfer of information between health care providers should consist of all pertinent data, be precise, clear and occur within a timely manner. The information facilitates actions to be undertaken for provision of the care that patients require (Marshall et al, 2012). Studies have shown that ISBAR tool is effective in successful transfer information. This is because the tool has several advantages such as; the tool ensures inclusiveness of information and decreases the probability of missed information; the tool is simple and focused way of communicating set expectation; makes sure that recommendation is clear and professional; and lastly focuses on the problem that is being communicated and not the communicating individuals (Marshall et al, 2012). Study Methodology Study Participants/Data Collection Approximately 20 members of healthcare providers consisting of nurses and physicians will be recruited in the study. This will include nurses and physicians who took part in after-hours handover in 12 week clinical term. The afterhours will be audiotaped and the study participants will complete a survey to examine the current handover awareness and practice in the hospital (Wakefield, 2011). After this, various focus groups and interviews with several healthcare providers will be carried out to inform regarding the format of ISBAR as the standardized communication tool. The healthcare providers will be encouraged to use ISBAR as the handover and communication tool. After the education on ISBAR, study participants will be surveyed to evaluate the perceived changes regarding handover on using ISBAR. Audiotaping of the handover will also be done to examine the differences in regard to information transfer and duration. This will help in assessing the efficacy of ISBAR during communication and handovers (Wakefield, 2011). Data Analysis& Presentation The collected data will be entered in a computer spreadsheet. The data will be analysed by coding and keying the data obtained from the audiotaped handovers. Frequency tables, charts as well as descriptive statistics will be created to present the results (Lundman, 2006). Ethical Issues Basically, all studies involve ethical issues such as obtaining informed consent, confidentiality and data protection. In this study, ethical issues will include obtaining informed consent from all study participants prior to carrying the study. The study participants will be provided with all study information and confidentiality will be maintained throughout the study and even after completion of the study. Additionally, before carrying out the study, permit will sought from the relevant authority (Lundman, 2006). Conclusion Communication is very important in healthcare practice and as literature indicates, poor communicates contributes greatly to adverse events in healthcare settings. Therefore, it is critical to have an effective communication tool. ISBAR has been proved to be effective in communication because it organizes communication into essential element transfer of information. The study thus aims to find out the effect of ISBAR tool on healthcare providers in an Australian hospital and if the tool has an effect in reducing errors that cause adverse events in healthcare settings. List of References Read More