• Anne Miller, Carlos Scheinkestel, Anthony Limpus, Michele Joseph, Amod Karnik, and Bala Venkatesh.
• Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Center for Perioperative Research in Quality, 1211 21st Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37212, USA. anne.miller@vanderbilt.edu
• Hum Factors. 2009 Jun 1;51(3):339-53.

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to explore differences in the verbal content of handovers and rounds conducted in uni- and interdisciplinary social contexts. We expected higher proportions of goals to be articulated during interdisciplinary rounds.BackgroundLack of explanatory connections between round improvement initiatives and outcomes suggest insufficient understanding about health care communications, especially the role of social interaction.MethodsThe recognition-primed abstract decomposition space (RP-ADS) was used to analyze the information content of nurse handovers and morning rounds in a unidisciplinary- (physicians only) and an interdisciplinary-round intensive care unit (ICU). Data were collected using audio recordings of rounds and handovers for five patients for 5 days each in both ICUs.ResultsHierarchical log-linear analyses show strong associations between events (medical rounds vs. nurses' shift handovers), type (uni- vs. interdisciplinary), and focus (levels of the RP-ADS) with highly significant combined two-way and higher-order interactions, LRchi2(df=4) = 30.91, p < .0001. All tests of partial association were also highly significant. Differences among levels of the variables were evaluated using standardized residuals.ConclusionNurses focused on RP-ADS data and intervention levels, whereas physicians focused on diagnoses and expectations. Clinical goals that integrate these orientations emerged to a greater extent in interdisciplinary rounds. In addition, social context of rounds appears to influence nurse handovers. Unidisciplinary ICU nurse handovers consisted of a series of data- and intervention-related observations, whereas ICU nurse handovers in interdisciplinary ICUs tended to integrate data, interventions and clinical goals.ApplicationThese results are relevant to the design and implementation of clinical communication improvement initiatives and support tools.

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