Call properties: comparison of appropriate to inappropriate actions
| Call properties | Situation inappropriate action* (n=34) | Situation appropriate action* (n=45) | p Value | Background inappropriate action* (n=16) | Background appropriate action* (n=15) | p Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Information communicated regarding the patient's situation (other than the situation cue) | ||||||
| Time to state reason for call (s) | 44±117 | 36±39 | 0.60 | 84±164 | 27±29 | 0.21 |
| Total no. of situation data items | 2.3±0.8 | 2.8±0.8 | 0.32 | 2.6±1.0 | 2.7±1.0 | 0.64 |
| Independently provided by the nurse | 2.2±0.8 | 2.7±0.8 | 0.12 | 2.5±1.0 | 2.6±0.9 | 0.75 |
| Situation data items physician asked about | 0.1±0.3 | 0.1±0.2 | 0.32 | 0.2±0.5 | 0.3±0.7 | 0.47 |
| Information communicated regarding patient's background (other than the background cue) | ||||||
| Total no. of background data items | 5.6±1.9 | 6.4±2.9 | 0.92 | 7.2±2.6 | 6.8±2.4 | 0.22 |
| Independently provided by the nurse | 4.8±1.9 | 5.0±2.9 | 0.41 | 6.2±2.9 | 5.3±2.2 | 0.13 |
| Background data items physician asked about | 0.7±1.1 | 1.3±1.5 | <0.001 | 0.9±1.4 | 1.4±1.8 | 0.59 |
| Wrong information reported | 9% (3) | 9% (4) | 0.20 | 6% (1) | 7% (1) | 0.96 |
| Reason for admission | 88% (30) | 87% (39) | 0.81 | 100% (16) | 87% (13) | NS† |
| Medical history | 88% (30) | 80% (36) | 0.90 | 100% (16) | 87% (13) | NS† |
| Home medications | 12% (4) | 22% (10) | 0.80 | 44% (7) | 40% (6) | 0.84 |
| Associated signs and symptoms | 35% (12) | 18% (8) | 0.94 | 31% (5) | 20% (3) | NS† |
| Vital signs | 24% (8) | 40% (18) | 0.98 | 50% (8) | 40% (6) | 0.62 |
| Nurse gave an assessment/recommendation | 24% (8) | 27% (12) | 0.98 | 18% (3) | 28% (5) | |
| Nurse gave a correct assessment/recommendation | 6% (2) | 16% (7) | 0.34† | 6% (1) | 33% (5) | 0.34 |
| Length of talk (min) | 3.5±2.4 | 6.1±3.6 | 0.04‡ | 5.6±2.4 | 6.3±4.5 | 0.58 |
Communication of data items (other than the cues) regarding the patient's situation (eg, patient identification and location, whether the problem was urgent) and the patient's background (eg, reason for hospitalisation, prior medical history, vital signs, medication).
When applicable values are mean±SD.
*Regardless of whether the background cue was communicated.
†Non-significant—statistical analysis not feasible due to a small number of observations.
‡Non-significant due to the number of variables evaluated (ie, type I error inflation).