Enhancing handover quality in high care units via SBAR communication: A study in an Indonesian Provincial Hospital
Keywords:
SBAR Communication; Handover Quality; High Care Unit; Patient Safety; Nursing Management.Abstract
Background: Ineffective communication during patient handovers significantly jeopardizes patient safety, particularly in critical settings like High Care Units (HCU). The SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation) protocol is globally recognized as a strategy to standardize information transfer and reduce medical errors. Aim: This study aimed to analyze the correlation between SBAR communication implementation and nursing handover quality in a provincial hospital’s High Care Unit.
Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted involving 46 nurses selected via purposive sampling in the HCU of a general hospital in West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Data were collected using validated observation sheets and questionnaires to assess SBAR compliance and handover quality, then analyzed using the Chi-square test (alpha < 0.05).
Results: Results indicated that 93.5% of respondents implemented SBAR effectively, and 95.7% demonstrated good handover quality. A statistically significant positive correlation was found between effective SBAR implementation and handover quality (p = 0.000; r = 0.807).
Conclusion: The consistent application of the SBAR protocol significantly enhances the precision and quality of clinical handovers by reducing information distortion.
Recommendation: Hospitals should institutionalize SBAR as a mandatory core competency and conduct regular clinical audits to ensure sustained adherence and patient safety.
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