Bedside Shift Report Enhances Patient Satisfaction for Hispanic and Public Insurance Patients and Improves Visibility of Leadership in Obstetric and Postpartum Settings

Written by Rita Elue, Shannon D. Simonovich, Joseph D. Tariman, Elizabeth Ann Newkirk, & Mark Neerhof

doi: https://doi.org/10.13178/jnparr.2019.09.02.0903

Abstract

Background: Previous research demonstrates that bedside shift report is beneficial to both patients and providers, however no known study to date has examined the relationship between bedside shift report and patient satisfaction in an obstetric patient population.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the association between bedside shift report and patient satisfaction scores in obstetric and postpartum women as measured by the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) during a unit-wide transition to include bedside shift report.

Methods: One hospital implemented bedside shift reporting in both obstetric and postpartum units in January 2018. Retrospective cross-sectional and longitudinal HCAHPS survey data, including survey respondent characteristics, were collected between October 2017 and April 2018 and were examined for differences pre (n = 146) and post (n = 143) in bedside shift report implementation.

Results: Implementation of bedside shift report in the hospital’s obstetric and postpartum units was associated with improved patient satisfaction scores in Hispanic (p < .001), and public insurance patient populations (p < .001). Patient satisfaction scores remained consistently high through the transition to bedside shift report. Implementation of bedside shift report was also associated with significantly improved visibility of nurse leaders by
patients (p = .018).

Conclusions: This study demonstrates that implementation of bedside shift report enhances patient satisfaction experiences, particularly those of minority and public insurance backgrounds, while also enhancing the visibility of nursing leadership on obstetric and postpartum units. These findings have important implications for enhancing patient satisfaction through innovative communication approaches in obstetric populations.

Keywords: bedside shift, obstetrics, postpartum, patient satisfaction, leadership