[Should we establish patient safety leadership walkrounds? A systematic review]

Used for over a decade, patient safety leadership walkrounds (PSLWs) is a managerial method designed to enhance the implementation of safety measures in hospitals. In order to determine the effect of PSLWs in French hospitals, we reviewed the literature on participant perceptions and the impact of PSLW on the overall culture of safety.

We conducted a systematic review of articles assessing the impact of PSLWs on the culture of safety (comparative studies) or the perceptions of caregivers and managers (qualitative studies).

Five studies investigating safety culture and three studies investigating participant perception were identified. PSLWs were associated with an improvement in safety culture and the overall safety climate. The presence of caregivers during the PSLWs was important to achieve improvement. PSLWs improved the dialogue between caregivers and managers, and improved knowledge on care safety. Some problems concerning managerial PSLW attendance and counter-productive attitudes have occasionally been reported.

PSLWs improve safety culture. Their effectiveness depends on the way they are implemented. They should initially be tested in France to ensure their feasibility and acceptability in our healthcare system.