Medical errors among nurses: understanding the impact of work-family conflict and burnout

Medical errors remained a persistent challenge to patient safety and healthcare quality worldwide. This study examined the psychological predictors and underlying mechanisms associated with medical errors among nurses, focusing specifically on the effects of work-family conflict, work interference with family (WIF) and family interference with work (FIW), and the mediating role of burnout. A cross-sectional survey design was employed. Participants were 251 nurses (81 men, 170 women) working in public hospitals in Ondo State, Nigeria, aged between 31 and 52 years (M = 41.28, SD = 6.31). Data were analyzed using Hayes' PROCESS macro with 5,000 bootstrap samples to test the hypothesized mediation model. Higher levels of both WIF and FIW were significantly associated with increased medical errors. Burnout significantly mediated the relationships between work-family conflict dimensions and medical errors, indicating that work-family conflict contributes to elevated error rates indirectly through heightened burnout. Work-family conflict constitutes a significant psychosocial risk factor for medical errors, with burnout serving as a key explanatory mechanism. Interventions aimed at mitigating burnout may reduce the negative impact of work-family conflict on patient safety outcomes. Healthcare administrators and nurse managers should prioritize strategies to reduce work-family conflict and burnout, such as optimizing job demands and implementing flexible scheduling, family-supportive workplace policies, and manageable workload structures. Addressing these psychosocial stressors may enhance nurse well-being and contribute to improved patient safety.