Handover training: does one size fit all? The merits of mass customisation

Abstract

Background. Training plays an important role in improving handovers. However, the content and delivery of handover training are only superficially examined and poorly described in literature. The aim of this study is to formulate recommendations for an effective training in handover and to examine whether standardization is a viable solution. Methods. A training needs analysis was conducted by means of a questionnaire, which was filled out by 96 healthcare professionals in primary and secondary care in the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Poland. Preferences and recommendations regarding training delivery aspects and training topics that should be included in a training for handover were measured. Results. The majority of the participants recommended to provide a short conventional training with practical assignments to a small, multidisciplinary group. Formal examination, e-learning and self-study were not favoured. Recommended training topics were: communication skills, standardized procedures, knowing what to hand over, alertness to vulnerable patient groups, and awareness of responsibility. Small differences between countries pertain to suggested solutions to handover problems, such as reducing the time interval between discharge and discharge letter (The Netherlands), ensure information is handed over at all (Poland), and more standardized procedures and information systems (Sweden and Spain). Conclusions. The idea of a completely standardized handover training is not in line with the identified differences in preferences and recommendations between different handover stakeholders. Instead mass customization of training in which a generic training can easily be adapted to the trainees’ needs, based on examinations of, for example, their preferences or identified handover problems and solutions, is a more promising approach to handover training.