SynthesisBMJ open2018
Impact of the communication and patient hand-off tool SBAR on patient safety: a systematic review.
Synthesis in BMJ open, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05187598 (Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Online Communication Training Focused on Maintaining Perinatal Patient Safety for Nursing Students), which is not on this map. Cited by 166 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Online Communication Training Focused on Maintaining Perinatal Patient Safety for Nursing Students
Who cites it
166 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- 2025 Korean Guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation: Part 4. Adult advanced life support.Clinical and experimental emergency medicine · 2026Guideline
- Use of structured handoff protocols for within-hospital unit transitions: a systematic review from Making Healthcare Safer IV.BMJ quality & safety · 2025Pooled it
- Physician inpatient handoffs-Patient and physician outcomes: A systematic review.Journal of hospital medicine · 2025Pooled it
- The use of Introduction, Situation, Background, Assessment, and Recommendation handover in the COVID-19 pandemic and non-COVID clinical settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in health services · 2025Pooled it
- Effectiveness of SBAR-based simulation programs for nursing students: a systematic review.BMC medical education · 2023Pooled it
- Patient reported outcomes in oncology: changing perspectives-a systematic review.Health and quality of life outcomes · 2022Pooled it
- Can SBAR be implemented with high fidelity and does it improve communication between healthcare workers? A systematic review.BMJ open · 2021Pooled it
- Role play versus video-based learning for interprofessional communication and teamwork skills in nursing and medical students: a mixed-methods study in Pakistan.BMC medical education · 2025Trial
- Impact of disclosing a working diagnosis during simulated patient handoff presentation in the emergency department: correctness matters.Diagnosis (Berlin, Germany) · 2025Trial
- The effect of using desktop VR to practice preoperative handovers with the ISBAR approach: a randomized controlled trial.BMC medical education · 2023Trial
- Sustaining High Reliability Amid Artificial Intelligence Adoption in Oncology.Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology · 2026Article
- Factors Influencing Medication Safety Competence of Nurses According to Clinical Career Stage: A Cross-Sectional Survey.Nursing & health sciences · 2026Article
- Organizational Patient Safety Culture, Psychological Resilience, and Job Satisfaction Among Nurses in ISO-Certified and Non-ISO-Certified Departments: An Exploratory Cross-Sectional Comparison.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Effects of a Reflection-Integrated CICARE Program on Empathy and Clinical Judgment in Nursing Students: A Quasi-Experimental Study.Nursing reports (Pavia, Italy) · 2026Article
- Hybrid simulation approach enhances technical and non-technical skills in therapeutic pharmacology education.BMC medical education · 2026Article
- Transforming challenging telephone conversations - investigating the effectiveness of an adapted ISBAR tool for delivering bad news.BMC medical education · 2026Article
- Patient Safety Communication Priorities Among New Graduate Nurses: A Cross-Sectional Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- From crisis to care: evaluating nursing competencies in pediatric intensive care units through family eyes.BMC nursing · 2026Article
- Communication dynamics in the care of preterm infants: a multi-level qualitative study from a high-burden district in Indonesia.International journal for equity in health · 2026Article
- Bridging the Gap: Multidisciplinary Decision Making to Address Systemic Barriers in Cardiovascular Care.Current cardiology reports · 2026Review
106 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesCommunication breakdown is one of the main causes of adverse events in clinical routine, particularly in handover situations. The communication tool SBAR (situation, background, assessment and recommendation) was developed to increase handover quality and is widely assumed to increase patient safety. The objective of this review is to summarise the impact of the implementation of SBAR on patient safety.
designA systematic review of articles published on SBAR was performed in PUBMED, EMBASE, CINAHL, Cochrane Library and PsycINFO in January 2017. All original research articles on SBAR fulfilling the following eligibility criteria were included: (1) SBAR was implemented into clinical routine, (2) the investigation of SBAR was the primary objective and (3) at least one patient outcome was reported.
settingA wide range of settings within primary and secondary care and nursing homes.
participantsA variety of heath professionals including nurses and physicians. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Aspects of patient safety (patient outcomes) defined as the occurrence or incidence of adverse events.
resultsEight studies with a before-after design and three controlled clinical trials performed in different clinical settings met the inclusion criteria. The objectives of the studies were to improve team communication, patient hand-offs and communication in telephone calls from nurses to physicians. The studies were heterogeneous with regard to study characteristics, especially patient outcomes. In total, 26 different patient outcomes were measured, of which eight were reported to be significantly improved. Eleven were described as improved but no further statistical tests were reported, and six outcomes did not change significantly. Only one study reported a descriptive reduction in patient outcomes.
conclusionsThis review found moderate evidence for improved patient safety through SBAR implementation, especially when used to structure communication over the phone. However, there is a lack of high-quality research on this widely used communication tool.
trial registrationnone.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.