Exploring the Stability of Communication Network Metrics in a Dynamic Nursing Context.

Network stability is of increasing interest to researchers as they try to understand the dynamic processes by which social networks form and evolve. Because hospital patient care units (PCUs) need flexibility to adapt to environmental changes (Vardaman, Cornell, & Clancy, 2012), their networks are unlikely to be uniformly stable and will evolve over time. This study aimed to identify a metric (or set of metrics) sufficiently stable to apply to PCU staff information sharing and advice seeking communication networks over time.

Nursing Unit Communication During a US Public Health Emergency: Natural Experiment.

Background: In the second half of 2014, the first case of Ebola virus disease (EVD) was diagnosed in the United States. During this time period, we were collecting data for the Measuring Network Stability and Fit (NetFIT) longitudinal study, which used social network analysis (SNA) to study relationships between nursing staff communication patterns and patient outcomes. One of the data collection sites was a few blocks away from where the initial EVD diagnosis was made.

Relationship of Staff Information Sharing and Advice Networks to Patient Safety Outcomes.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare information sharing and advice networks' relationships with patient safety outcomes.

Background: Communication contributes to medical errors, but rarely is it clear what elements of communication are key.

Methods: We investigated relationships of information-sharing and advice networks to patient safety outcomes in 24 patient care units from 3 hospitals over 7 months.

Nursing Unit Design, Nursing Staff Communication Networks, and Patient Falls: Are They Related?

Purpose:: The purpose of this research is to (1) investigate the impact of nursing unit design on nursing staff communication patterns and, ultimately, on patient falls in acute care nursing units; and (2) evaluate whether differences in fall rates, if found, were associated with the nursing unit physical structure (shape) or size.

Background:: Nursing staff communication and nursing unit design are frequently linked to patient safety outcomes, yet little is known about the impact of specific nursing unit designs on nursing communication patterns that might affect patient falls.

Method:: An exploratory longitudinal correlational design was used to measure nursing unit communication structures using social network analysis techniques.