Communication failures in surgery in the Asia Pacific region: a systematic review

Abstract

Introduction

Communication failure among healthcare professionals causes preventable surgical morbidity and mortality. Asia- Pacific region has its own cultural norms and customs sometimes causing perplexities and acting as a barrier in communication in a surgical setup. This systematic review summarizes the communication failures in surgery in countries belonging to the Asia-Pacific Region.

Methods

Data were obtained by a stepwise process using electronic databases such as MEDLINE, EMBASE and Google Scholar. MeSH subheading 'Surgery' and MeSH terms such as anaesthesia, operating rooms and communication were used.

Results

The literature search yielded 447 articles. Additional five articles were selected from the references. Twelve eligible articles were selected for the final analysis. The causes of communication failure were identified in four domains. Those were failures in communication in teamwork, individual factors, work environment related factors and technical factors.

Conclusions

Professional power, hierarchical approach, gender-based discriminations and not being open for constructive criticism leading to communication failures were seen in Asia-Pacific region. Debriefing on areas in communication errors and implementations such as creating awareness through nontechnical skills education, protocols, checklists, and introducing other methods to minimize the failure rates perhaps need to be done in this region.