Patient-Reported Incident Measure (PRIM) tools for reporting patient safety incidents: protocol for a scoping review

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Quality and Safety
• Patient Engagement
• Health Informatics

Background:

• Patient safety incidents are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality, yet many remain unreported.
• Involving patients and caregivers in reporting safety incidents can enhance existing healthcare professional systems.
• Patient-Reported Incident Measures (PRIMs) are crucial for identifying and analyzing safety issues to prevent future harm.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and describe the published literature on tools enabling patients or caregivers to report patient safety incidents.
• To create an index of patient/caregiver-reported safety notification tools.
• To compile a list of studies describing or evaluating these tools.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive scoping review will be conducted, adhering to PRISMA-ScR guidelines.
• Inclusion criteria focus on adult patients/caregivers reporting safety incidents in any healthcare setting.
• Extensive literature searches across multiple databases, supplemented by reference checking and web searches, will be performed, with an update before completion.

Main Results:

• The review will synthesize findings on the characteristics of patient-reported safety notification tools.
• Characteristics to be described include setting, scope, format, content, incident type/severity, notification timing, and integration with reporting systems.
• The review will result in an index of tools and a list of descriptive or evaluative studies.

Conclusions:

• This review will provide a comprehensive overview of existing tools for patient and caregiver reporting of safety incidents.
• The findings will support the development and implementation of improved patient safety reporting systems.
• Dissemination will occur through peer-reviewed publications, scientific meetings, and digital platforms.