The Role of SBAR Communication Tools Implementation for Clinical Handover Among Medical Personnel in Emergency Department: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Hospital Setting Studies

Abstract

Introduction

Patient handover in Emergency Department (ED) plays important role in the impact of patient safety. To overcome this, the SBAR instrument, a communication checklist, is required to relay information in critical circumstances.

Significance

This study aimed at summarizing and evaluating the outcome of SBAR tools implementation on patient handover in the ED.

Methods

This meta-analysis was reported based on criteria from Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Different electronic sources were used for the literature search. Mean Difference (MD) and Standard Deviation (SD) with 95% of the confidence interval (CI) were used to evaluate the association between SBAR tool implementation and the increase of total handover quality score. Results Twenty studies were included in the qualitative synthesis and six studies were admitted into quantitative meta-analysis. The current study showed that the implementation of SBAR communication tool for clinical handover was very beneficial (Pooled MD=1.79, 95% CI (1.59-2.00), p<0.00001, I2=57%). It could also reduce the duration of clinical handover (Pooled MD=1.74,95% CI (-2.27, -0.67), p=0.0003, I2=92%). Conclusion: This study provides valuable evidence suggesting the implementation of SBAR communication tool as a potential strategy for increasing the total handover quality.