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. 2024 May 27;14(5):e085312.
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2024-085312.

How does communication affect patient safety? Protocol for a systematic review and logic model

Jeremy Howick  1   2 , Amber Bennett-Weston  3 , Josie Solomon  3 , Keith Nockels  4 , Jennifer Bostock  5 , Leila Keshtkar  3
Affiliations

How does communication affect patient safety? Protocol for a systematic review and logic model

Jeremy Howick et al. BMJ Open. .

Abstract

Introduction: One in 10 patients are harmed in healthcare, more than three million deaths occur annually worldwide due to patient safety incidents, and the economic burden of patient safety incidents accounts for 15% of hospital expenditure. Poor communication between patients and practitioners is a significant contributor to patient safety incidents. This study aims to evaluate the extent to which patient safety is affected by communication and to provide a logic model that illustrates how communication impacts patient safety.

Methods and analysis: We will conduct a systematic review of randomised and non-randomised studies, reported in any language, that quantify the effects of practitioner and patient communication on patient safety. We will search MEDLINE, CINAHL, APA PsychINfo, CENTRAL, Scopus and ProQuest theses and dissertations from 2013 to 7 February 2024. We will also hand-search references of included studies. Screening, data extraction and risk of bias assessment will be conducted by two independent reviewers. Risk of bias will be assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias in Non-Randomised Studies of Interventions (ROBINS-I) for non-randomised studies, and the Cochrane Risk of Bias V.2 (RoB2) for randomised controlled trials. If appropriate, results will be pooled with summary estimates and 95% confidence intervals (CIs); otherwise, we will conduct a narrative synthesis. We will organise our findings by healthcare discipline, type of communication and type of patient safety incident. We will produce a logic model to illustrate how communication impacts patient safety.

Ethics and dissemination: This systematic review does not require formal ethics approval. Findings will be disseminated through international conferences, news and peer-reviewed journals.

Prospero registration number: CRD42024507578.

Keywords: Health Services; Patients; Safety; Systematic Review.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Categories and subcategories of patient safety incidents.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Different types of communication.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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