Hospital nurses' perceptions of human factors contributing to nursing errors

Area of Science:

• Healthcare quality and safety
• Human factors in medicine
• Nursing practice

Background:

• Patient safety remains a critical concern in hospitals despite significant focus over the last 15 years.
• Medical errors continue to occur frequently, impacting patient outcomes and healthcare system efficiency.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and understand the human factors contributing to medical errors within hospital settings.
• To develop a framework for analyzing the root causes of hospital errors.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional survey was administered to 393 hospital-based registered nurses.
• Nurses provided perceptions on 24 items related to human errors, assessing likelihood, intervenability, importance, and frequency.

Main Results:

• Four primary themes explained 55% of the variance in error likelihood: loss of focus, unhealthy environment, interpersonal deficits, and feeling overwhelmed.
• Nurses perceived feeling overwhelmed as the most significant factor but not readily intervenable.

Conclusions:

• Hospital managers should create an environment that empowers nurses to intervene in error-prone situations.
• Intervention strategies should consider factors nurses deem most likely, common, and important for error reduction.