Spotlight on Research

Over the years the quality of clinical handover has been identified as an important determinant in patient care when aiming for a smooth transition for the patient from one area of health care provision to another. This paper outlines the findings of a literature search that was undertaken to answer the question: ‘what does published research tell us about handover in pre-hospital settings?’

At first glance you would be forgiven for wondering whether this will only include handovers literally in ‘pre-hospital settings’ rather than at the point of handover from ambulance staff to hospital staff. However, the authors explicitly define their interpretation of the term ‘pre-hospital’ and this clearly includes both work outside the hospital as well as at the point of handover between ambulance staff and hospital-based staff.

The literature search included papers published between January 2000 and March 2014. Clear inclusion and exclusion criteria are stated within the paper and using these criteria a total of 401 papers were identified.