## 1 Introduction  
Nursing bedside handover has gained increased attention since the 2000s, particularly after the World Health Organisation recognised it as a crucial strategy for enhancing safe patient care [1]. This practice is to be conducted by nurses at the patient's bedside. The aim of nursing bedside handover is to share, confirm, and clarify clinical information and the patient's current condition by engaging both the patient and their family during shift transitions. Effective bedside handovers involve clear communication of the patient's status and treatment plan to nursing staff, patients, and their families, which is critical for ensuring continuity of care and promoting patient safety [1,2]. To ensure an effective nursing bedside handover process, [PERSON] et al. [3] recommended five steps: First, prepare by allocating staff and patients and updating patient information and care documents. Second, outgoing nurses introduce the oncoming staff and patients. Third, exchange information through face-to-face communication, patient care records, and staff questions. Fourth, involve patients by inviting them to comment or ask questions to enhance the quality and accuracy of the handover. Finally, oncoming nurses perform a safety check of patients' conditions, environment, and equipment. The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care has highlighted the importance of effective communication between healthcare professionals and patients and their families [4]. For the past decade, bedside handovers have been mandated in all Australian hospitals as part of accreditation requirements. This requirement is to guarantee that patients and their families are involved in the handover process, ensuring the safe delivery of healthcare and fostering patient-and-family-centred care [5]. However, simply conducting bedside handovers does not guarantee active patient and family involvement or effective communication among nurses, patients, and their families. There is limited current evidence on whether patients and families are actively participating in nursing bedside handovers and whether their perceptions are being considered. Numerous studies have been conducted on the topic of bedside handover, primarily focusing on the perceptions of nurses [6, 7, 8]. However, there is a paucity of research exploring patient perceptions of bedside nursing handover. A systematic review reported that patients' participation was mostly influenced by nurses, with patients being more inclined to participate when nurses made deliberate attempts to include them in the dialogue [9]. Another systematic review found that nurses often dominated the conversation during the bedside handover, leading patients to feel ignored [10]. [PERSON] et al. [11] explored the perceptions of mental health patients regarding their involvement in nursing handover at a regional hospital in Australia. They reported a lack of interaction between patients and nurses, with patients feeling \"shunned or ignored\" during handover [11] (p. 732). Similarly, [PERSON] and [PERSON] [12] reported that patients felt excluded or neglected by nurses during bedside handover, largely due to the use of medical jargon and insufficient attention to the fact that the patient was listening and not involving the patients in the conversation. In a systematic review, aimed at gaining a deeper understanding of patient experiences in bedside handover, [PERSON] et al. [13] recognised that understanding patients' perceptions and experiences is crucial for designing and implementing a process that respectfully incorporates the preferences and values of both patients and their families. They reported that patient involvement in bedside handover did not occur until 2013. Additionally, they noted that studies examining patient perspectives were mainly conducted in medical and surgical units and in single hospitals. They suggested that further studies involving patients with different clinical conditions, at different stages of life, and with varying lengths of hospital stay are needed.