Actions for mitigating the negative effects of patient participation in patient safety: a qualitative study

Recent research within the context of Obstetrics shows the added value of patient participation in in-hospital patient safety. Notwithstanding these benefits, recent research within an Obstetrics department shows that four different negative effects of patient participation in patient safety have emerged. However, the approach to addressing these negative effects within the perspective of patient participation in patient safety is currently lacking. For this reason, the aim of this study is to generate an overview of actions that could be taken to mitigate the negative effects of patient participation in patient safety within an Obstetrics department.

This study was conducted in the Obstetrics Department of a tertiary academic center. An explorative qualitative interview study included sixteen interviews with professionals (N = 8) and patients (N = 8). The actions to mitigate the negative effects of patient participation in patient safety, were analyzed and classified using a deductive approach.

Eighteen actions were identified that mitigated the negative effects of patient participation in patient safety within an Obstetrics department. These actions were categorized into five themes: 'structure', 'culture', 'education', 'emotional', and 'physical and technology'. These five categories reflect the current approach to improving patient safety which is primarily viewed from the perspective of professionals rather than of patients.

Most of the identified actions are linked to changing the culture to generate more patient-centered care and change the current reality, which looks predominantly from the perspective of the professionals and too little from that of the patients. Furthermore, none of the suggested actions fit within a sixth anticipated category, namely, 'politics'. Future research should explore ways to implement a patient-centered care approach based on these actions. By doing so, space, money and time have to be created to elaborate on these actions and integrate them into the organizations' structure, culture and practices.