BACKGROUND: Good communication is necessary for safety and quality of health. This study aims to determine the effect of ISBAR communication on nurses’ perception of communication and attitudes toward patient safety in the Emirates Maternity Hospital in the Gaza Strip, Palestine

METHOD: A single-group hospital-based intervention study (pre and posttest) was conducted. A census sample was used. Participants opinions about the effect of ISBAR were gathered using two tools established by Shortell, Rousseau, Sexton, and Helmreich to assess the communication awareness and nurses’ attitudes towards safety, respectively, before and after the use of the ISBAR program.

RESULTS: After the ISBAR application, nurses’ perception of communication demonstrated a positive and significant increase in the three sub-items (openness, accuracy and understanding, and shift communication) in the nurse–nurse communication. Moreover, in four sub-items (openness, accuracy, and understanding, timeliness, and satisfaction) in nurse–doctor communication, (p ˂ 0.05). Further, the nurses’ attitudes toward patient safety showed a significant and positive increase in teamwork climate (p˂0.001), safety climate (p = 0.007), job satisfaction and working condition (p˂0.001), stress recognition (p = 0.008), and perception of management (p = 0.001).

CONCLUSION: The results provide significant evidence of the positive effects of the ISBAR program in improving nurses’ perceptions of communication and attitudes toward patient safety.  It is recommended that healthcare providers use ISBAR communication in their practice. Moreover, periodic training programs are required for effective ISBAR communication among the healthcare team.

KEYWORDS: ISBAR, Clinical handover, Application, Patient Safety