Table 1. Nursing Handoff Studies.

Paper	Study Methods	Sample and Size	Acute care setting	Score$
Patterson, 1995 [25]	Cross-sectional survey	197 surveys	All units, large medical center	13
Berkenstadt, 2008 [26]	Intervention: handoff checklist; interviews, observations	Pre: 5 interviews, 224 handoff observations, Post: 166 observations	Medical step-down unit	12.5
Miller, 2009[27]	Cohort comparison, content analysis	Cohort A:22 handoff observations, Cohort B: 23 observations	General medical, surgical, trauma intensive care units	12.5
Chaboyer, 2010 [28]	Observational, content analysis	34 interviews, 532 handoff observations	Medical, surgical and rehabilitation	12
Lamond, 2000 [29]	Content analysis, multidimensional scalogram analysis	60 audio-taped handoffs and formal written documents	Acute medical and acute surgical units from 2 hospitals	11.5
McFetridge, 2007 [30]	Interviews, focus groups, content analysis	12 interviews, 2 focus groups, formal handoff document policies	Emergency department to intensive care	11
Welsh, 2010 [31]	Interviews, grounded theory	20 interviews	General medicine, oncology, and surgical intensive care unit	11
McLane, 2009 [32]	Content analysis	151 informal written handoff documents	Hematology, thoracic surgery, neurosurgery rehabilitation	10.5
Staggers, 2009 [33]	Observational, content analysis	53 handoffs observed and audio-taped	Medical and surgical units in 3 acute care facilities	10.5
Currie, 2002 [34]	Cross-sectional survey	28 surveys	Emergency department	10
Lally, 1999 [35]	Observational, thematic analysis	6 handoff observations	General surgical and vascular surgery unit	9.5
Sexton, 2004 [36]	Observational, focus group, content analysis	1 focus group, 23 audiotaped handoffs	General medical	9
Nelson, 2010 [37]	Intervention: computer-based handoff; survey, handoff duration time	Pre, Post, 6-months: 14 handoff durations each, survey unclear	Gastrointestinal surgical oncology unit	8
Fenton, 2006 [38]	Intervention: handoff guide; observations	Pre: 15 handoff observations; Post: 15 handoff observations	Geriatric rehabilitation unit	7.5
Block, 2010 [39]	Intervention: handoff card; random usage audits	Post: 13 audits of usage of formal handoff card	Labor and delivery	7
Sherlock, 1995 [40]	Observational, interviews, thematic analysis	28 handoff observations, 3 interviews	General medical unit	7
Chaboyer, 2009 [41]	Intervention: Standard bedside handoff guideline; interviews, survey	Interview sample size unclear; 6 months post: 27 surveys	General medical and stroke/rehabilitation	6
Mascioli, 2009[42]	Interviews and surveys	Sample size unclear	Acute care nursing staff	4
Average Score				9.6

^$Quality Scoring System for Handoff Research Studies, maximum score=16