Complete (CINAHL Complete), and Cochrane Library databases to find peer-reviewed,
English language articles published between 2005 and 2015 that evaluated SBAR and the
subsequent effect on communication between health care providers and patient safety.
Despite the filters used in the initial search criteria, one article written in Italian and one
non-peer reviewed article presented in the search results and were subsequently excluded
from the review. Additional reasons for exclusion from the literature review were
overlapping articles between databases, studies still in progress with no available results,
articles describing only the implementation process of SBAR, and editorial articles. After
application of the exclusion criteria, a total of 26 articles regarding SBAR,
communication, and patient safety were retained for this review. The included
publications were analyzed for the findings regarding SBAR, communication, and patient
safety.
Results
The results of the empirical studies were recorded onto a table in order to identify
recurring themes regarding SBAR and the effect on communication and patient safety
(see Table 1). Four primary themes pertaining to SBAR, communication, and patient
safety were extracted from the results of the 26 included articles.
I. Utilization of SBAR creates a common language for communication of key
patient care information.
Utilization of the SBAR tool establishes a common zone for communication
regarding patient care. Specifically, when used to guide information exchange between
nurses and physicians, the communication gap that exists between the two professions is
bridged through the combination of the communication styles of nurses and physicians