Identifying and using tools for reducing risks to patients and health care workers: a nursing perspective

Area of Science:

• Healthcare systems research
• Occupational health and safety
• Human factors engineering

Background:

• Increasing attention on healthcare errors and worker injuries highlights the role of organizational and systems factors.
• Commonalities between patient safety and healthcare worker injury suggest a need for integrated research and policy efforts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the link between organizational variables and the occurrence of healthcare error and worker injury.
• To advocate for a human factors approach in studying these interconnected issues.
• To identify common research and policy opportunities for patient and worker safety.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing research and policy initiatives in patient safety and healthcare worker injury.
• Emphasis on the application of human factors principles.
• Identification of data limitations regarding staffing, work hours, and skill mix.

Main Results:

• Organizational and systems factors are critical determinants in both medical errors and healthcare worker injuries.
• A significant gap exists in accessing crucial data needed to analyze the relationship between practice conditions and safety outcomes.
• The human factors field offers valuable methodologies for understanding and mitigating risks.

Conclusions:

• Linking patient safety and healthcare worker safety efforts offers substantial potential benefits.
• Interdisciplinary research, experience, and best practices are essential for advancing both areas.
• Further investigation into common interests and concerns is warranted.