Acute-To-Home Care Nursing Handoffs: Distributed Cognition Across Patterns of Knowledge
type: CreativeWork
description: Timely, explicit, and effective communication of patient information during care transitions is fundamental to safe care. Studies show that handoffs or transfers of patient care from one provider to another are susceptible to communication failures (Riesenberg et al., 2009a). Most studies on communication failures focus on communication between providers within the same setting of care. Few studies, if any, focus on communication between care settings in different locations. However, research has identified gaps in care during critical transitions and identified poor communication and incomplete transfer of information as the root cause (Naylor et al., 2004). This qualitative dissertation consists of seven research questions aimed at understanding dimensions of nursing roles, patterns of communication, data exchanged and communication channels related to acute-to-home care handoffs. This study uses an integrated theoretical framework encompassing cognition theory, patterns of knowledge theory, and clinical communication space theory, which in parallel, represent key aspects of acute-to-home care handoffs. To describe these concepts and variables, the Event Analysis of Systematic Teamwork methods were used to describe acute-to-home care patient handoff distributed cognition and patterns of communication related to: role dimensions, tasks, and activities within the handoff process; data, information and knowledge shared; and communication channels used. In addition, the study described how the International Classification of Nursing Practice (ICNP) and the Quality Data Model (QDM) represent communication of nursing diagnoses and goals as patients transition from acute-to-home care settings. The study revealed a very complex and fragmented process devoid of acute-care nursing representation in decision-making regarding post discharge care and in sharing of data in the acute-to-home care handoff. A comparison of medical versus nursing diagnoses shared in acute-to-home c…
abstract: Timely, explicit, and effective communication of patient information during care transitions is fundamental to safe care. Studies show that handoffs or transfers of patient care from one provider to another are susceptible to communication failures (Riesenberg et al., 2009a). Most studies on communication failures focus on communication between providers within the same setting of care. Few studies, if any, focus on communication between care settings in different locations. However, research has identified gaps in care during critical transitions and identified poor communication and incomplete transfer of information as the root cause (Naylor et al., 2004). This qualitative dissertation consists of seven research questions aimed at understanding dimensions of nursing roles, patterns of communication, data exchanged and communication channels related to acute-to-home care handoffs. This study uses an integrated theoretical framework encompassing cognition theory, patterns of knowledge theory, and clinical communication space theory, which in parallel, represent key aspects of acute-to-home care handoffs. To describe these concepts and variables, the Event Analysis of Systematic Teamwork methods were used to describe acute-to-home care patient handoff distributed cognition and patterns of communication related to: role dimensions, tasks, and activities within the handoff process; data, information and knowledge shared; and communication channels used. In addition, the study described how the International Classification of Nursing Practice (ICNP) and the Quality Data Model (QDM) represent communication of nursing diagnoses and goals as patients transition from acute-to-home care settings. The study revealed a very complex and fragmented process devoid of acute-care nursing representation in decision-making regarding post discharge care and in sharing of data in the acute-to-home care handoff. A comparison of medical versus nursing diagnoses shared in acute-to-home c…
author: Kennedy, Rosemary
keywords: acute to home care handoffs, care coordiantion, handoffs, nursing, transitions of care
date published: 2012-01-01T08:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T02:55:23Z
provider: Loyola University Chicago
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Loyola University Chicago