AI Insight
This qualitative study examined duty handover practices on maternity wards across six public health facilities in Hoima District, Uganda, through interviews with 15 health workers and 5 administrators. Researchers found that handover processes were inconsistent, lacked standardization, and relied heavily on informal telephone communication rather than structured face-to-face protocols. Key challenges included time constraints, inadequate training, limited resources and supervision, negative staff attitudes, and difficulty accessing patient information, with communication breakdowns linked to care delays and errors.
Why it matters
The findings highlight critical gaps in maternity care continuity in low-resource settings where handover failures can lead to preventable maternal and neonatal harm. The study suggests that standardized handover tools, targeted training, and stronger supervision could significantly improve patient safety in comparable healthcare settings across Sub-Saharan Africa.
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⚠️ Preprint – Noch nicht peer-reviewed
Dieser Artikel wurde noch nicht von unabhängigen Experten begutachtet. Die Ergebnisse sind vorläufig und sollten mit Vorsicht interpretiert werden.
Background Duty handover is a high-risk point in the continuity of maternity care, and breakdowns in handover communication have been linked to delayed care and avoidable harm. Qualitative evidence from maternity wards in low-resource Sub-Saharan African settings is limited, and to our knowledge no study has examined handover experiences on maternity wards in Hoima District, Uganda. This study explored the experiences and challenges of health workers and administrators regarding duty handover on maternity wards in public health facilities in Hoima District, Uganda. Methods We conducted a qualitative phenomenological study. Fifteen in-depth interviews with maternity ward health workers and five key informant interviews with administrators were carried out across six public health facilities. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using a modified Colaizzi seven-step method. Reflexivity and bracketing were addressed through a pre-fieldwork assumptions statement and bracketing interview, a reflexive journal kept throughout data collection, and independent double-coding of a subset of transcripts. Results Two themes were identified: duty handover practices on maternity wards, and challenges experienced by health workers during handover. Handover was inconsistent in structure, duration and adherence to protocol, and relied heavily on informal telephone communication rather than structured face-to-face reporting. Standardised tools were used in some facilities only. Participants identified time constraints and workload, inadequate training, limited resources and supervision, negative staff attitudes, and difficulty accessing patient information as key challenges, and linked communication breakdowns to delays and errors in care. Patients and families were largely not involved in handover. Conclusions Duty handover on the maternity wards studied was inconsistent and constrained by capability-, opportunity- and motivation-related barriers operating together. Standardised and locally adapted handover tools, targeted training, stronger supervision and facility- and national-level guidance appear necessary to protect continuity of care in comparable low-resource maternity settings.