Factors contributing to voluntariness of incident reporting among hospital nurses

Abstract

Purpose This study aimed to (a) test the hypothesized model for hospital nurses’ voluntariness of incident reporting (VIR) and (b) determine the extent to which reporting culture factors, nursing safety practices and perceptions of work predict VIR. Design and Methods A cross‐sectional survey was applied to 1,380 frontline nurses recruited from six teaching hospitals in Taiwan. Data were collected using self‐administered questionnaires. Correlation analyses and path analyses using structured equation modelling were used. Findings More than half of the nurses did not display a voluntary attitude towards reporting. VIR was correlated with factors of reporting culture, nursing safety practices and perceptions of work. Through path analyses, the safety practices mediated on the relationship between the reporting culture and VIR. Conclusions Nurses still have modest willingness of reporting. The factors of reporting culture and nursing safety practices are critical determinants of VIR. Within more behavioural involvement in the safety practices, the reporting culture can support nurses to report voluntarily. Implications for Nursing Management Strengthening nurses’ engagement in safety practices can advance the reporting voluntariness and agreement with reporting culture concurrently. Nurse leaders should continue to optimize workload management and job satisfaction, which is advantageous to the safety practices enacted.

The effect of patient safety culture on nurses’ near-miss reporting intention: the moderating role of perceived severity of near misses

“…This study found that the effect of non-punitive response to error on NMRI was not significant, whereas prior studies reported that blame culture was a deterrent to employees' participation in error reporting (Archer et al, 2017;Chiang et al, 2019). The difference may result from the characteristics of near misses.…”

“…For near misses, reporting is much more challenging because they are less visible and cause no harm to patients. Several managerial and individual factors affect reporting healthcare errors, such as uncertainty of what and how to report, lack of feedback, and fear-related factors (Archer et al, 2017;Chiang et al, 2019). However, the factors that specially contribute to near-miss reporting have rarely been explored.…”

Characteristics of recovery from near misses in primary health care nursing: A Prospective descriptive study

“…Although this problem is relatively infrequent, it was identified in our study; therefore, omissions should be prevented with adequate workload and staffing levels or specific education (Härkänen et al, 2019). Regarding aspects that impede recognition of an error, most of the nurses consulted observed that the most problematic aspect of care was that of work overload, as has been observed in previous research (Chiang, Lee, Lin, & Ma, 2019;Tanaka et al, 2010). Although neither fear of informing the doctor nor difficulty in communicating with the doctor are among the most frequently indicated difficulties, these important aspects should also be taken into account in order to improve performance.…”

Perceptions of Patient Safety Culture and Medication Error Reporting among Early- and Mid-Career Female Nurses in South Korea

“…Additionally, reporting culture influences the rate of incident reporting, nursing safety practice and perception of work. Thus, to encourage voluntary error reporting, lead nurses should ensure that workload is at an appropriate level, and devise strategies to boost job satisfaction [ 37 ].…”

“…Since the Patient Safety Act in Korea was announced in July 2016, healthcare institutions have appointed employees to oversee patient safety and to facilitate the reporting of patient safety incidents [ 36 ]. Although the error reporting system is the most commonly used method for identifying medication errors, significant under-reporting still persists in Korea and across the world [ 19 , 37 ]. Moreover, few studies have examined the relationship between nurses’ perceptions of patient safety culture and medication error reporting in Korea.…”