The functions and roles of questioning during nursing handovers in specialty settings: an ethnographic study

Abstract

Background: Nursing handovers are an important component of patient safety and quality in communicating across transitions of care. Objectives: To determine the functions and roles of questions in nursing handovers, and of how questions contribute to handover quality improvement in specialty settings of an Australian tertiary hospital. Design: An ethnographic research design was employed. Methods: Participant observations were conducted which were audiorecorded and transcribed. Question–response sequences and the roles of questions in the handovers were coded. Results: Questions served many functions, and included: requests for information, requests for confirmation, other initiations of rep..