Nurses' Communication of Safety Events to Nursing Home Residents and Families

• Published in: Journal of gerontological nursing Vol. 44; no. 2; pp. 25 - 32
• Main Authors: Wagner, Laura M, Driscoll, Lena, Darlington, Jasmin L, Flores, Victoria, Kim, Julee, Melino, Katerina, Patel, Hema Doshi, Spetz, Joanne
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States SLACK INCORPORATED 01.02.2018
• Subjects: Communication; Disclosure; Elder care; Gerontology; Medical errors; Nurse patient relationships; Nursing; Nursing care; Nursing education; Nursing homes; Patient safety; United States > US; San Francisco California
• ISSN: 0098-9134; 1938-243X
• DOI: 10.3928/00989134-20171002-01

Although communication is an essential part of the nursing process, nurses have little to no formal education in how to best communicate patient safety event (PSE) information to nursing home (NH) residents and their family members. The current mixed-methods study tested an intervention aimed at educating nurses on how to communicate a PSE to residents/family members using a structured communication tool. Nurse participants improved their knowledge of PSE communication, especially about the cause of the event, what they would say to the resident/family member, and future prevention of the PSE. Through qualitative subgroup analysis, an increased number of empathic statements were noted post-intervention. The tool tested in this study provides structure to an important care process that is necessary for improving the culture of safety in NH settings. [Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 44(2), 25-32.].