The Use of the Situation, Background, Assessment, and Recommendation (SBAR) Form as a Tool for Handoff Communication in the Pediatrics Department in a Sudanese Teaching Hospital

Purpose: Patient care transitions between healthcare providers are common in hospitals -- this project aimed to audit the use of Situation, Background, Assessment, and Recommendation (SBAR)-based handoff communication tool in the handoff process.

Materials and methods: This prospective audit was conducted at Ribat Teaching Hospital, Khartoum, Sudan. All handoff communications of pediatric inpatients who required close monitoring during the study period were included. Two cycles of data collection were conducted, each spanning a duration of two weeks. The data, whether in the first or second cycle, were collected using a checklist document containing the items of the SBAR form. After the end of the first cycle, regular training sessions about the content and importance of the SBAR form were conducted for one week. Additionally, doctors' perception regarding the form was assessed.

Results: Some 48 doctors participated in this study, 29 females and 19 males. In the first cycle, the percentages of filled SBAR form components were as follows: Situation 7%, Background 0.00%, Assessment 0.00%, and Recommendation 0.00%. After conducting training sessions, the second cycle assessment was done and it showed improvement in all form components: Situation 88.8%, Background 83.6%, Assessment 66.3%, and Recommendation 69.5%. Regarding the doctors' perception assessment, the majority reported the usefulness of the SBAR form in patients' safety, physicians' communication, and accountability.

Conclusion: The SBAR form is a simple and effective tool for improving communication; it helps doctors capture all relevant patient information. Most importantly, the majority of doctors were satisfied with the use of this tool for handoff communication.