Barriers and strategies in the Nursing Handover of critically ill patients: integrative review

Objective: To verify the main barriers and strategies inherent to the nursing handover of critically ill patients in the scientific literature. Method: This is an integrative review of the literature which used a quantitative approach and was conducted between October 19 to November 2, 2018. With the selection of article published between 2002 and 2018. Results: 26 (100%) identified articles, all published internationally, among these 16 (62%) were published in the last five years. Among the articles, 38% addressed barriers and 27% handover strategies, 35% of which were related to patient safety. Discussion: communication is a basic instrument for nursing care, and it is becoming indispensable in handover, enabling continuity of care and minimizing adverse events. Conclusion: The results of this review show the emerging need to develop tools and strategies to assist the Nursing Handover in critically ill patients KEYWORDS: Nursing; Patient transfer; Communication barriers; Nursing Care; Critical Care; Patient Safety.