Background. Nursing handovers at shift change are potentially hazardous for
patients’ quality of care. The nurses on the outgoing and incoming shifts need
accurate understanding of the patient’s current state, under circumstances that are
frequently turbulent and time constrained.
Design. Qualitative study.
Method. Eighteen nurses working in a central Israeli hospital participated in the
study. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews, conducted
over a 10-month period in 2011–2012. The interviews were tape-recorded and
transcribed verbatim. Content analysis method was used.