Date of Award

Summer 2026

Abstract

Abstract

Background: Interdisciplinary safety huddles in healthcare are used to facilitate staff communication, voice patient safety concerns and identify high acuity patients, as well as identify current unit issues that need resolution. Using characteristics of safety huddles, revising patient report sheets to include pertinent safety information often shared during huddles may lead to an increase in staff perception of communication as well as awareness to patient safety concerns. Within an in-patient rehabilitation hospital, anonymous staff reports indicated dissatisfaction with interprofessional communication and microsystem data revealed increased events of adverse patient outcomes and safety concerns. Baseline data indicated inconsistent patient handoff routines, barriers of communication between day and night shift staff, and worsening numbers of patient deterioration in categories including falls and pressure injuries.

Methods: A quality improvement project was implemented to improve staff perception of interdisciplinary communication and awareness of patient safety concerns using a unit-wide patient report sheet. Report sheets were revised with headings for pertinent safety information (safety precautions, fall risk, acuity status, pressure injuries, behavioral/family concerns, and shift updates).

Intervention: The revised patient report sheet was printed and used in the microsystem for an 11-day implementation period. Pre- and post-intervention perception of unit-wide communication was assessed using a survey including use of a 5-point Likert scale and a few open-ended questions. Eleven responses were recorded for the pre-intervention survey, and no responses were recorded for the post-intervention survey.

Results: Due to a lack of responses to the post intervention survey, there is no definitive data to accurately assess if the revised unit-wide patient report sheet had an impact on staff perceptions of communication or awareness of patient safety concerns. Analysis of completed patient report sheets revealed a gap in staff knowledge of criteria for acuity status, resulting in an acuity status reference table added to the report sheet. Although there was no data to confirm the impact the revised patient report sheet had on staff perception of communication or patient safety awareness, the use of the report sheet revealed a gap in staff knowledge about patient acuity status.

Conclusion: The addition of the revised patient report sheet creates an opportunity for standardized communication of pertinent safety concerns for each patient which can potentially aid in the transition of care from one staff member to another. Revisions of the implementation process and increased staff engagement could result in more data collection and thus a thorough evaluation of the intervention.

Keywords: Interdisciplinary communication, patient report, safety concerns, acuity status, quality improvement, perception of communication, staff awareness

Document Type

Master's Thesis

First Advisor

Pamela Kallmerten

Second Advisor

Deborah Simonton

College or School

CHHS

Department or Program

Direct Entry Master's In Nursing

Degree Name

Master of Science

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