Victoria Ando, Alexia Cavin-Trombert, David Gachoud, Matteo Monti
{"title":"Does the use of structured interventions to guide ward rounds affect patient outcomes? A systematic review.","authors":"Victoria Ando, Alexia Cavin-Trombert, David Gachoud, Matteo Monti","doi":"10.1136/bmjqs-2024-018039","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjqs-2024-018039","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Ward rounds are an essential activity occurring in hospital settings. Despite their fundamental role in guiding patient care, they have no standardised approach. Implementation of structured interventions during ward rounds was shown to improve outcomes such as efficiency, documentation and communication. Whether these improvements have an impact on clinical outcomes is unclear. Our systematic review assessed whether structured interventions to guide ward rounds affect patient outcomes.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A systematic search was carried out in May 2023 on Embase, Medline, CINAHL, ERIC, Web of Science Core Collection, the Cochrane Library (Wiley) and Google Scholar, and a backward and forward citation search in January 2024. We included peer-reviewed, original studies assessing the use of structured interventions during bedside ward rounds (BWRs) on clinical outcomes. All inpatient hospital settings where BWRs are performed were included. We excluded papers looking at board, teaching or medication rounds.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Our search strategy yielded 29 studies. Two were randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and 27 were quasi-experimental interventional studies. The majority (79%) were conducted in intensive care units. The main clinical outcomes reported were mortality, infectious complications, length of stay (LOS) and duration of mechanical ventilation (DoMV). Mortality, LOS and rates of urinary tract and central-line associated bloodstream infections did not seem to be affected, positively or negatively, by interventions structuring BWRs, while evidence was conflicting regarding their effects on rates of ventilator-associated pneumonia and DoMV, with a signal towards improved outcomes. Studies were generally of low-to-moderate quality.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The impact of structured interventions during BWRs on clinical outcomes remains inconclusive. Higher quality research focusing on multicentric RCTs or on prospective pre-post trials with concurrent cohorts, matched for key characteristics, is needed.</p><p><strong>Prospero registration number: </strong>CRD42023412637.</p>","PeriodicalId":9077,"journal":{"name":"BMJ Quality & Safety","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2025-04-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144062014","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sean McCarthy, Aneesa Motala, Emily Lawson, Paul G Shekelle
{"title":"Use of structured handoff protocols for within-hospital unit transitions: a systematic review from Making Healthcare Safer IV.","authors":"Sean McCarthy, Aneesa Motala, Emily Lawson, Paul G Shekelle","doi":"10.1136/bmjqs-2024-018385","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjqs-2024-018385","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Handoffs are a weak link in the chain of clinical care of inpatients. Within-unit handoffs are increasing in frequency due to changes in duty hours. There are strong rationales for standardising the reporting of critical information between providers, and such practices have been adopted by other industries.</p><p><strong>Objectives: </strong>As part of Making Healthcare Safer IV we reviewed the evidence from the last 10 years that the use of structured handoff protocols influences patient safety outcomes within acute care hospital units.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We searched four databases for systematic reviews and original research studies of any design that assessed structured handoff protocols and reported patient safety outcomes. Screening and eligibility were done in duplicate, while data extraction was done by one reviewer and checked by a second reviewer. The synthesis of results is narrative. Certainty of evidence was based on the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation framework as modified for Making Healthcare Safer IV.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We searched for evidence on 12 handoff tools. Two systematic reviews of Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation (SBAR) (including 11 and 28 original research studies; 5 and 15 were about the use in handoffs) and two newer original research studies provided low certainty evidence that the SBAR tool improves patient safety outcomes. Ten original research studies (about nine implementations) provided moderate certainty evidence that the I-PASS tool (Illness severity, Patient summary, Action list, Situation awareness, Synthesis to receiver) reduces medical errors and adverse events. No other structured handoff tool was assessed in more than one study or one setting.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The SBAR and I-PASS structured tools for within-unit handoffs probably improve patient safety, with I-PASS having a stronger certainty of evidence. Other published tools lack sufficient evidence to draw conclusions.</p><p><strong>Prospero registration number: </strong>CRD42024576324.</p>","PeriodicalId":9077,"journal":{"name":"BMJ Quality & Safety","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2025-04-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143967291","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Christina Saville, Jeremy Jones, Paul Meredith, Chiara Dall'Ora, Peter Griffiths
{"title":"Cost-effectiveness of eliminating hospital understaffing by nursing staff: a retrospective longitudinal study and economic evaluation.","authors":"Christina Saville, Jeremy Jones, Paul Meredith, Chiara Dall'Ora, Peter Griffiths","doi":"10.1136/bmjqs-2024-018138","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjqs-2024-018138","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Understaffing by nursing staff in hospitals is linked to patients coming to harm and dying unnecessarily. There is a vicious cycle whereby poor work conditions, including understaffing, can lead to nursing vacancies, which in turn leads to further understaffing. Is hospital investment in nursing staff, to eliminate understaffing on wards, cost-effective?</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This longitudinal observational study analysed data on 185 adult acute units in four hospital Trusts in England over a 5-year period. We modelled the association between a patient's exposure to ward nurse understaffing (days where staffing was below the ward mean) over the first 5 days of stay and risk of death, risk of readmission and length of stay, using survival analysis and linear mixed models. We estimated the incremental cost-effectiveness of eliminating understaffing by registered nurses (RN) and nursing support (NS) staff, estimating net costs per quality-adjusted life year (QALY). We took a hospital cost perspective.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>Exposure to RN understaffing is associated with increased hazard of death (adjusted HR (aHR) 1.079, 95% CI 1.070 to 1.089), increased chance of readmission (aHR 1.010, 95% CI 1.005 to 1.016) and increased length of stay (ratio 1.687, 95% CI 1.666 to 1.707), while exposure to NS understaffing is associated with smaller increases in hazard of death (aHR 1.072, 95% CI 1.062 to 1.081) and length of stay (ratio 1.608, 95% CI 1.589 to 1.627) but reduced readmissions (aHR 0.994, 95% CI 0.988 to 0.999). Eliminating both RN and NS understaffing is estimated to cost £2778 per QALY (staff costs only), £2685 (including benefits of reduced staff sickness and readmissions) or save £4728 (including benefits of reduced lengths of stay). Using agency staff to eliminate understaffing is less cost-effective and would save fewer lives than using permanent members of staff. Targeting specific patient groups with improved staffing would save fewer lives and, in the scenarios tested, cost more per QALY than eliminating all understaffing.</p><p><strong>Interpretation: </strong>Rectifying understaffing on inpatient wards is crucial to reduce length of stay, readmissions and deaths. According to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence £10 000 per QALY threshold, it is cost-effective to eliminate understaffing by nursing staff. This research points towards investing in RNs over NS staff and permanent over temporary workers. Targeting particular patient groups would benefit fewer patients and is less cost-effective.</p>","PeriodicalId":9077,"journal":{"name":"BMJ Quality & Safety","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2025-04-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143963742","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hannah B Edwards, Carlos Sillero-Rejon, Hugh McLeod, Elizabeth M Hill, Brent C Opmeer, Colin Peters, David Odd, Frank de Vocht, Karen Luyt
{"title":"Implementation of national guidelines on antenatal magnesium sulfate for neonatal neuroprotection: extended evaluation of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the National PReCePT Programme in England.","authors":"Hannah B Edwards, Carlos Sillero-Rejon, Hugh McLeod, Elizabeth M Hill, Brent C Opmeer, Colin Peters, David Odd, Frank de Vocht, Karen Luyt","doi":"10.1136/bmjqs-2024-017763","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjqs-2024-017763","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Since 2015, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines have recommended antenatal magnesium sulfate (MgSO<sub>4</sub>) for mothers in preterm labour (<30 weeks' gestation) to reduce the risk of cerebral palsy (CP) in the preterm baby. However, the implementation of this guideline in clinical practice was slow, and MgSO<sub>4</sub> use varied between maternity units. In 2018, the PRrevention of Cerebral palsy in PreTerm labour (PReCePT) programme, an evidence-based quality improvement (QI) intervention to improve use of MgSO<sub>4</sub>, was rolled out across England. Earlier evaluation found this programme to be effective and cost-effective over the first 12 months. We extended the original evaluation to determine the programme's longer-term impact over 4 years, its impact in later preterm births, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to compare MgSO<sub>4</sub> use in England (where PReCePT was implemented) to Scotland and Wales (where it was not).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Quasi-experimental longitudinal study using data from the National Neonatal Research Database on babies born <30 weeks' gestation and admitted to a National Health Service neonatal unit. Primary outcome was the percentage of eligible mothers receiving MgSO<sub>4</sub>, aggregated to the national level. Impact of PReCePT on MgSO<sub>4</sub> use was estimated using multivariable linear regression. The net monetary benefit (NMB) of the programme was estimated.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>MgSO<sub>4</sub> administration rose from 65.8% in 2017 to 85.5% in 2022 in England. PReCePT was associated with a 5.8 percentage points improvement in uptake (95% CI 2.69 to 8.86, p<0.001). Improvement was greater when including older preterm births (<34 weeks' gestation, 8.67 percentage points, 95% CI 6.38 to 10.96, p<0.001). Most gains occurred in the first 2 years following implementation. PReCePT had a NMB of £597 000 with 89% probability of being cost-effective. Following implementation, English uptake appeared to accelerate compared with Scotland and Wales. There was some decline in use coinciding with the onset of the pandemic.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The PReCePT QI programme cost-effectively improved use of antenatal MgSO<sub>4</sub>, with anticipated benefits to the babies who have been protected from CP.</p>","PeriodicalId":9077,"journal":{"name":"BMJ Quality & Safety","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2025-04-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143971903","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Economic evaluations of quality improvement interventions: towards simpler analyses and more informative publications.","authors":"Teryl K Nuckols","doi":"10.1136/bmjqs-2024-018349","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjqs-2024-018349","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":9077,"journal":{"name":"BMJ Quality & Safety","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2025-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143970286","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sarindi Aryasinghe, Phoebe Averill, Carole Waithe, Susan Ibuanokpe, Rhianna Newby-Mayers, Nawal Lakhdar, Moussa Amine Sylla, Elizabeth Cox, Sabrina Das, Erik Mayer
{"title":"Improving the maternity experience for Black, African, Caribbean and mixed-Black families in an integrated care system: a multigroup community and interprofessional co-production prioritisation exercise using nominal group technique.","authors":"Sarindi Aryasinghe, Phoebe Averill, Carole Waithe, Susan Ibuanokpe, Rhianna Newby-Mayers, Nawal Lakhdar, Moussa Amine Sylla, Elizabeth Cox, Sabrina Das, Erik Mayer","doi":"10.1136/bmjqs-2024-017848","DOIUrl":"10.1136/bmjqs-2024-017848","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Ethnic inequities in maternity care persist in England for Black, African, Caribbean and mixed-Black heritage families, resulting in poorer care experiences and health outcomes than other minoritised ethnic groups. Co-production using an integrated care approach is crucial for reducing these disparities and improving care quality and safety. Therefore, this study aimed to understand the alignment of health and local authority professional perspectives with community needs on how to improve maternity experiences for this ethnic group within a London integrated care system (ICS).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Between March and June 2024, five workshops were conducted with health professionals, local authorities, voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector and the public from Black, African, Caribbean and mixed-Black heritage backgrounds across the North West London ICS. Using the nominal group technique (NGT), attendees prioritised ideas to improve the experience of maternity care for families from Black, African, Caribbean and mixed-Black heritage backgrounds, which were thematically synthesised using framework analysis.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Fifty-four attendees, covering primary, secondary, regional and national health professionals, public health teams from three local authorities, VCSE sector and the public, generated 89 potential interventions across 11 themes. All attendees prioritised improving staff knowledge and capacity in culturally competent care and communication. Community-identified needs for advocacy mechanisms and mental health support throughout the maternity pathway were not reflected in professional priorities.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The study highlights the need for an integrated, community-centred approach beyond hospital settings when addressing ethnic inequities in maternity care, recognising key differences between community and professional priorities within an ICS. Leveraging lived experience expertise to lead the NGT community workshops was essential in building trust and buy-in of the overall prioritisation process.</p>","PeriodicalId":9077,"journal":{"name":"BMJ Quality & Safety","volume":" ","pages":"305-316"},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2025-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12013574/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142738359","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kyra Rosen, Holly Krelle, William C King, Nathan Klapheke, Paulo Pina, Judd Anderman, Alicia Chung, Felicia Mendoza, Ashley Bagheri, Jay Stadelman, Sarah Tsuruo, Leora Idit Horwitz
{"title":"Effect of text message reminders to improve paediatric immunisation rates: a randomised controlled quality improvement project.","authors":"Kyra Rosen, Holly Krelle, William C King, Nathan Klapheke, Paulo Pina, Judd Anderman, Alicia Chung, Felicia Mendoza, Ashley Bagheri, Jay Stadelman, Sarah Tsuruo, Leora Idit Horwitz","doi":"10.1136/bmjqs-2024-017893","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjqs-2024-017893","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Previous studies have demonstrated that text message reminders can improve pediatric vaccination rates, including low income & diverse settings such as those served by federally qualified health centers. In this study, we aimed to improve compliance with routine childhood immunizations via a text message intervention in a network of urban, federally qualified health centers at a large academic medical center. We targeted parents or guardians of children aged 0-2 years who were overdue or due within 14 days for at least one routine childhood immunization without a scheduled appointment. In Round 1, two versions of a text were compared to a control (no text). In subsequent Rounds, a new text was compared to a control (no text). In each round the content, wording, and frequency of texts changed. Subjects were randomized to receive a text (treatment group(s)) or to not receive a text (control group) in each round between 2020 and 2022. The primary outcome was whether overdue vaccines had been given by 12 week follow up. The secondary outcome was appointment scheduling within the 72 hours after text messages were sent. In Round 1 (n=1203) no significant differences were found between groups in overdue vaccine administration per group or per patient at follow up, or in appointment scheduling. In Round 2 (n=251) there was no significant difference in vaccine administration per group or per patient. However, significantly more patients in the intervention group scheduled an appointment (9.1% vs. 1.7%, p=0.01). In Round 3 (n=1034), vaccine administration was significantly higher in the intervention group compared to the control overall (7.0% vs. 5.5%, 0.016) and per subject (p=0.02). Significantly more patients in the intervention group scheduled an appointment compared to the control (3.3% vs. 1.2%, p=0.02). We found that text messaging can be an effective intervention to promote health service utilization such as pediatric vaccination rates, which although improved in this study, remain low.</p>","PeriodicalId":9077,"journal":{"name":"BMJ Quality & Safety","volume":"34 5","pages":"339-348"},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2025-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12013542/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143974150","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}