Relationship of Experience and Institution on Public Health Nurses’ Preparation of Handover Documentation

Abstract

Purpose: To examine the proportion of public health nurses (PHNs), by experience and institution, who prepare handover documentation and what content they include.

Methods: Self-administered questionnaires were sent by mail to 1615 full-time PHNs working at 251 randomly chosen public health centers. The questionnaire included items assessing the information provided by PHNs for handover documentation, including the purpose and procedures of health activities, district healthcare needs, evaluation of health activities, and available social resources and partnerships.

Results: In total, 1088 PHNs responded, representing a response rate of 67.4%. Of these, 1035 were deemed valid responses (64.1%). Data on 709 participants, excluding those who had not experienced personnel changes, were analyzed. Much lower proportions of PHNs described the healthcare needs of their district (34.8%) and evaluation of health activities (24.5%) and tended to be more experienced and to work for prefectural health facilities.

Conclusion: The results suggest wide variation in the preparation of handover documentation and that PHNs could not explain health activities to their successors sufficiently. PHNs should be supported with additional training on how to complete these two items related to handover.