Analysis of affecting factors on patient safety culture in private and public hospitals

Analysis of affecting factors on patient safety culture in private and public hospitals

In response to the journal published on December 30, 2019, patient-safety culture has been outlined as one of the most effective ways of providing quality services in healthcare.  Studies on patient safety culture have been on rising due to increasing levels of errors, which have caused adverse effects such as death to a large number of sick people. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Medicare activities have created tens of million injuries and deaths among the sick (Khoshakhlagh et al., 2019). For instance, in the USA, 44,000 to 98,000 hospital deaths are caused by hospital errors every year. In developed countries, it is estimated that errors from care practitioners lead to injuries for 1 in every ten patients (Khoshakhlagh et l, 2019). As such, the issues relating to healthcare errors need to be rectified through the introduction of an efficient patient-culture.

Strategies on development of patient-safety culture

The management of healthcare should define the patient-safety culture as part of their beliefs, behaviors, norms, and values. Such efforts will help in the development of an environment that is patient-centered since the healthcare providers will be driven towards safe conduct in their duties. The management should also include common belief regarding the risk associated with the patient’s safety as a responsibility of the healthcare provider (Lee, Tzeng & Chiang, 2019). Such will provide a framework that can facilitate ways of detecting and analyzing injuries and errors risking the safety of patients. This will create an environment that can balance reporting on the errors as well as the need for disciplinary actions. The measures help in the development of positive culture among the healthcare providers since it directs on their behaviors towards ensuring the safety of the patient becomes the priority in their endeavors. The hospitals should also engage in the creation of positive patient culture among their staff. The management should emphasize the importance of safety culture existence among their staff. Assessment of the existing organization culture can also be used in obtaining a clear overview regarding aspects of safety that needs more attention (Lee, Tzeng & Chiang, 2019).

The analysis enables the healthcare providers to identify the weakness and strengths it exhibits in issues concerning patient safety culture. As such, they can use in making a comparison with what they desire, thus allowing them to make effective adjustments towards effective patient-safety culture.

The nursing issue affecting patient safety culture in healthcare

Occupational burnout has been established as the leading cause of a lack of positive-patient culture caused by long-term stress experienced by nurses and other healthcare practitioners (Khoshakhlagh et al., 2019). Symptoms of burnout are manifested when the healthcare practitioner suffers from chronic fatigue, depletion of mental capacity, and depersonalization. Such issues lead to one’s mental separation from their accomplishment. One may develop occupational burnout due to stress and exposure of the nurse to violence or threats.

Recommendation

Achievement of a sustainable patient-safety culture in healthcare is a tedious process due to needing to change the culture of the providers entirely towards patient-centered healthcare delivery. As such, it is recommended that the patient’s safety should be examined based on the reasons behind its threat. For instance, the management should analyze issues such as psychological load, occupational stress, and job burnout among their staff. Such will enable the various parties involved in the development of patient safety culture to address the issues affecting its accomplishment. For example, if the nurses are not facilitating the safety of the patients due to job burnout, they can be allowed to go on vacation. This will help in rejuvenation, a method that can increase their patient-safety culture by resuming their duties.

 

References

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Khoshakhlagh, A. H., Khatooni, E., Akbarzadeh, I., Yazdanirad, S., & Sheidaei, A. (January 01, 2019). Analysis of affecting factors on patient safety culture in public and private hospitals in Iran. Bmc Health Services Research, 19, 1.)

Lee, T. S.-H., Tzeng, W.-C., & Chiang, H.-H. (March 01, 2019). Impact of Coping Strategies on Nurses’ Well-Being and Practice. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 51, 2, 195-204.