Adverse event reporting in Czech long-term care facilities

Area of Science:

• Healthcare quality and safety
• Geriatric care
• Health services research

Background:

• Adverse event reporting systems are crucial for patient safety in healthcare settings.
• Long-term care facilities (LTCFs) face unique challenges in implementing effective reporting mechanisms.
• Understanding the current state of adverse event reporting in the Czech Republic is essential for quality improvement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe and evaluate the adverse event reporting processes within long-term care facilities in the Czech Republic.
• To assess the reliability of different data collection methods for evaluating these processes.

Main Methods:

• A prospective cohort study was conducted involving 111 long-term care facilities in the Czech Republic.
• Data were collected using written questionnaires followed by in-person structured interviews with facility staff.
• The study population represented 87% of LTCFs in the Czech Republic.

Main Results:

• Sixty-three percent of facilities reported having adverse event-reporting processes, though many were immature and paper-based.
• In-person interviews partially contradicted questionnaire findings, indicating potential limitations of written surveys.
• A significant number of facilities reported multiple unconfirmed adverse events, suggesting under-reporting or ineffective systems.

Conclusions:

• Written questionnaires may have limited validity in assessing adverse event reporting processes in long-term care.
• While staff understand the importance of reporting, there's a noted lack of knowledge for establishing effective institutional reporting systems.
• Improvements are needed to enhance the maturity and effectiveness of adverse event reporting in Czech long-term care facilities.