Table 1

Inclusion and exclusion criteria using PICO and other relevant criteria

ElementInclusionExclusion
Population-participantsPatients.Healthy volunteers, participants outside of a healthcare setting.
Population-practitionersHealthcare practitioners (any).–
InterventionWritten, verbal or non-verbal communication between (1) healthcare practitioner and patient, (2) between healthcare practitioners, (3) non-clinical staff to clinical staff, (4) non-clinical staff to patients and (5) non-clinical staff to non-clinical staff (including lack of communication, poor communication or effective communication).–
ComparisonFor studies that compare different more or less adequate: less adequate communication.
For studies that do not have a control group: n/a.		–
OutcomesPatient safety incidents (including adverse events, medical errors and near misses).Studies that do not include and measure patient safety incidents as an outcome.
Study designAny study that quantitatively reported patient safety incidents.Systematic reviews
Narrative reviews
LanguageAny–
Timing of interventionAny–

  • n/a, not applicable.