Patient and Employee Safety Events-Are They Related by Common Hospital Unit Factors?

Health care environments pose risks to both patients and care providers. This study investigates unit working conditions potentially impacting patient and provider safety concurrently to identify common risk factors for targeted interventions.

Zero-inflated negative binomial models analyzed associations between select working conditions (eg, overtime, patient census) and patient/employee safety event rates. Multivariable regression models explored adjusted effects.

Patient and employee safety event rates showed little correlation, with units having higher rates in one category often showing lower rates in the other. Significant associations were found between safety events and select working conditions; however, results were inconsistent across indicators and did not apply uniformly to both safety event types.

Although patient and employee safety event rates were not correlated, evidence suggests common factors (unit group, registered nurse vacancy) jointly influence both outcomes. Further research on specific safety outcomes may reveal more causal associations.