Speaking Up and Taking Action: Psychological Safety and Joint Problem-Solving Orientation in Safety Improvement

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Organizational Psychology
• Patient Safety Research

Background:

• Healthcare organizations struggle with persistent patient safety issues and high clinician turnover.
• Psychological safety is crucial for patient safety, but its impact can be further enhanced.
• Joint problem-solving orientation (JPS) is explored as a potential moderator.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the interaction between psychological safety and JPS in improving patient safety.
• To examine how psychological safety and JPS influence clinicians' intent to stay.
• To provide a theoretical framework for understanding these relationships in healthcare.

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal survey data collected from 14,943 patient-facing healthcare workers.
• Statistical analysis to test for interaction effects (moderation).
• Examination of the relationship between psychological safety, JPS, safety improvement, and intent to stay.

Main Results:

• A significant positive interaction effect was found between psychological safety and JPS on safety improvement.
• Psychological safety's positive association with safety improvement was stronger when JPS was present.
• Both psychological safety and JPS positively predicted clinicians' intent to stay.

Conclusions:

• Joint problem-solving orientation (JPS) enhances the effectiveness of psychological safety for patient safety improvement.
• The interplay of psychological safety and JPS is vital for both patient safety and clinician retention.
• Healthcare organizations can benefit from assessing both psychological safety and JPS to refine their safety climate strategies.