Measured and perceived effects of audit and feedback on nursing performance: a mixed methods systematic review protocol

BACKGROUND: The use of audit and feedback (A&F) interventions in health care has been demonstrated to generally be effective on medical teams. However, literature suggests that the response of nurses to this type of intervention may differ from that of other types of health professionals, in relation to their roles, power, and to the configuration of nursing care activities. To our knowledge, no review has been conducted on A&F interventions with nurses. The objective of this systematic review is to examine the evidence of measured and perceived effects of A&F interventions on nurses’ performance. METHODS: A mixed methods systematic review design with thematic and narrative synthesis is used. Studies reporting quantitative and qualitative data on the effects of A&F interventions specific to nursing care are considered for inclusion. Studies will be appraised for quality using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Quantitative and qualitative data will be summarized in narrative and tabular form and will be synthetized using a segregated methodologies approach. DISCUSSION: Results will describe the characteristics of A&F with nurses, as well as the measured and perceived effects specific to nursing care. The associations between the characteristics and the effects as well as the concordance between measured and perceived effects will be presented. We anticipate that combining the evidence from qualitative and quantitative studies will allow us to provide relevant insight that can inform the design of better suited A&F interventions for nurses. Audit and feedback interventions demonstrate potential for improving the performance of nursing care. As their effectiveness varies greatly depending on the context and the professionals involved, a better understanding of the associations between its characteristics and the measured and perceived effects is valuable for improving the effectiveness of A&F. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42018104973 ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s13643-019-0956-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.