Written Mobility Communication in Acute Care Medical Wards: An Observational Study of Physical Therapists’ and Nurses’ Documentation Practice

Objective Low inpatient mobility is associated with poor hospital outcomes. Poor communication between clinicians has been identified as a barrier to improving mobility. Understanding how mobility is communicated within the multi-disciplinary team may help inform strategies to improve inpatient mobility. The aim of this study was to describe written mobility communication by physical therapists and nurses in acute care medical wards. Methods This cross-sectional observational study was conducted across 4 hospitals in an Australian health service. A survey of physical therapists and nurses identified preferred sources and content of written mobility communication. An audit described and compared written mobility communication in the most strongly preferred documentation sources. Findings were described and compared graphically between discipline and site. Results Questionnaires were completed by 85 physical therapists and 150 nurses. Twenty-two sources of documentation about mobility were identified. Preferences for sources and content varied between disciplines. Physical therapists nominated several preferred information sources and sought and documented broader mobility content. Nurses often sought nursing documents which focused on current mobility assistance and aids, with limited communication of mobility level or mobility goals. Audits of 104 patient records found that content varied between sources and sites, and content was variably missing or inconsistent between sources. Conclusion Written mobility communication focused on mobility assistance and aids, rather than mobility levels or mobility goals, with poor completion and inconsistency within documentation. More complete and consistent documentation might improve progressive mobilization of hospital inpatients. Impact statement Physical therapists and nurses seek and document different content in a wide range of locations, leading to incomplete and inconsistent written documentation. Understanding and resolving these practice differences offers potential to improve mobility communication and practice.