Knowledge and practice of handoff among doctors in a tertiary care hospital in Manipur: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

ABSTRACT Context: The exchange of patient information and the transfer of responsibility for patient care between health-care providers constitute a vital aspect of health-care communication and maintain continuum of care and patient safety. There are limited data on knowledge and practice of handoff among resident doctors in Manipur. Aims: To assess the knowledge and practice of handoff among resident doctors of a tertiary care hospital, in Imphal, and to determine the association between sociodemographic characteristics and handoff practice. Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional study among 279 resident doctors of a tertiary care hospital in Manipur was conducted. The data were collected using a pretested structured questionnaire. Statistical Analysis: The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 26.0. Descriptive statistics such as percentage, mean, and standard deviation were used to represent quantitative data. Chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test were used for categorical data. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The mean age of participants was 29.65 ± 3.97 years. More than two-thirds of the participants were inadequately practicing handoff in patient care. There were significant associations between the knowledge pertaining to questions, “When does handoff occur in patient care?” (P = 0.013), “What is the purpose of handoff?” (P = 0.024), and “What are the characteristics of good handoff?”(P = 0.019) with the practice of handoff. Conclusion: Although more than 4/5th of the doctors had good knowledge, only a quarter of them had adequate handoff practice.