Safety motivation and related factors in nurses: a qualitative study

Objectives. Employees' willingness and effort are critical to establishing and maintaining safety climate in healthcare institutions. The current study was conducted to understand nurses' safety motivation and their views on related factors in depth. Methods. This study, conducted using a descriptive phenomenological design, examined nurses' experiences and perceptions regarding safety behavior, factors affecting safety motivation and safety practices. Data were collected from 21 nurses working in public state and training and research hospitals. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the research data. Results. The results were grouped under the categories of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation for interpretation purposes, and two main themes and 11 sub-themes under these main themes were identified: the extrinsic motivation theme included the inadequate workforce, working hours, education and information, procedures and instructions, safety performance indicators, work environment, and the use of protective equipment sub-themes; and the intrinsic motivation theme included the teamwork, senior management's approach, experienced disorders and occupational accidents sub-themes. Conclusion. The study results indicate that nurses' safety motivation is related to workforce planning, education and management policies. However, healthcare managers should adopt approaches aiming to strengthen both intrinsic and extrinsic safety motivation of employees to ensure sustainable safety in healthcare services.