Views of Workers on Eliminating the Culture of Fear in Error Reporting

Purpose: This study examined nurses’ideas, views, and their recommendations for overcoming the barrier of fear in reporting medical errors. Method: The study was conducted using the descriptive qualitative research method. In this study, in-depth interviews were conducted with 13 nurses working in a training and research hospital. In the study sample, we included nurses who had completed their institutional orientation, and had been working for at least six months and agreed to participate in the study. Data were analyzed using the content analysis method. Results: The results showed that fears continues to be a key factor in failing to report errors. The study determined three main themes for the elimination of fear: “Training/Informing,” “Expectations from Managers,” and “Facilitating Initiatives.” Conclusions: Fear is an essential barrier in medical-error reporting. The views and recommendations of employees are crucial for solving this problem. The findings of this study are informative for guiding future research and managers.

Keywords:

Error-Reporting, Barriers to Error-Reporting Fear, Patient Safety,

PDF

___

1. Somyurek N, Ugur E. Establishing a culture of patient safety in intensive care units: nurse eye malpractice. Journal of Health and Nursing Management 2016; 3: 1-7.
2. Bairami F, Taleghani YM. Improving medical error reporting: a successful experience from Iran. Iranian Journal of Public Health 2016; 45: 713-714.
3. Bayazidi S, Zarezadeh Y, Zamanzadeh V, Parvan K. Medication error reporting rate and its barriers and facilitators among nurses. Journal of Caring Sciences 2012; 1: 231-236.
4. Chiang H, Pepper GA. Barriers to nurses’ reporting of medication administration errors in Taiwan. Journal of Nursing Scholarship 2006; 38: 392–399.
5. Hajibabaee F, Joolaee S, Peyravi H, Alijany-Renany H, Bahrani N, Haghani H. Medication error reporting in Tehran: a survey. J Nurs Manag 2014; 22: 304-310.
6. Kahriman I, Ozturk H. Evaluating medical errors made by nurses during their diagnosis, treatment and care practices. Journal of Clinical Nursing 2016; 25: 2884-2894.
7. Karaca A, Arslan HA. Study to evaluate the patient safety culture in nursing services. Journal of Health and Nursing Management 2014; 1: 9-18.
8. Nwozichi CU. Why are chemotherapy administration errors not reported? Perceptions of oncology nurses in a Nigerian tertiary health institution. Asia-Pacific Journal of Oncology Nursing 2015; 2: 26–34.
9. Ovali F. Patient safety approaches. The Journal of Health Performance and Quality 2010; 1: 33-44.
10. Savas H. Medical intervention errors. 3rd ed. Ankara: Seçkin Publishing; 2013.
11. Soydemir D, Intepeler SS, Mert H. Barriers to medical error reporting for physicians and nurses. Western Journal of Nursing Research 2016; 39: 1348-1363.
12. Blegen MA, Vaughn T, Pepper G et al. Patient and staff safety: voluntary reporting. American Journal of Medical Quality 2004;19: 67-74.
13. Jahromi ZB, Parandavar N, Rahmanian S. Investigating factors associated with not reporting medical errors from the medical team’s point of view in Jahrom, Iran. Global Journal of Health Science 2014; 6: 96-104.
14. Noble DJ, Pronovost PJ. Underreporting of patient safety incidents reduces health care’s ability to quantify and accurately measure harm reduction. Journal of Patient Safety 2010; 6: 247-250.
15. Stratton KM, Blegen MA, Pepper G, Vaughn T. Reporting of medication errors by pediatric nurses. Journal of Pediatric Nursing 2004; 19: 385-392.
16. Wakefield BJ, Uden-Holman T, Wakefield DS. Development and validation of the medication administration error reporting survey. In: Henriksen K, Battles JB, Marks ES, et al., editors. Advances in patient safety: from research to implementation. Rockville: AHRQ Publication; 2005.p. 465–478.
17. Alsafi E, Alsafi E, Baharoon S, Ahmed A, Al-Jahdali HH, Al Sayyari A. Physicians' knowledge and practice towards medical error reporting: a cross-sectional hospital-based study in Saudi Arabia. Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal 2015; 21: 655-664.
18. Hashemi F, Nasrabadi AN, Asghari F. Factors associated with reporting nursing errors in Iran: a qualitative study. BMC nursing 2012; 11, 20.
19. Moffatt-Bruce SD, Ferdinand FD, Fann JI. Patient safety: disclosure of medical errors and risk mitigation. The Annals of Thoracic Surgery 2016; 102: 358–362.
20. Uribe CL, Schweikhart SB, Pathak DS, Dow M, Marsh GB. Perceived barriers to medical-error reporting: an exploratory investigation. Journal of Healthcare Management 2002; 47: 263-280.
21. Mostafaei D, Barati Marnani A, Mosavi Esfahani H et al. Medication errors of nurses and factors in refusal to report medication errors among nurses in a teaching medical center of iran in 2012. Iranian Red Crescent medical journal 2014; 16(10), e16600.
22. Poorolajal J, Rezaie S, Aghighi N. Barriers to medical error reporting. International Journal of Preventive Medicine 2015; 6: 97.
23. Kingston MJ, Evans SM, Smith BJ, Berry JG. Attitudes of doctors and nurses towards incident reporting: a qualitative analysis. Medical Journal of Australia 2004; 181: 36-39.
24. Creswell JW. Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five traditions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. 1998 p.
25. Yildirim A, Simsek H. Qualitative research methods in social sciences, 8th ed. Ankara: Seckin Publishing; 2011.p.72-76.
26. Khammarnia M, Ravangard R, Barfar E, Setoodehzadeh F. Medical errors and barriers to reporting in ten hospitals in southern Iran. The Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences 2015; 22: 57-63.
27. Arslan S, Cetisli NE, Bakan G, Erkan S. Patient safety culture of health professionals. Gaziantep Medical Journal 2015; 21: 78-83.
28. Hisar KM, Arslan CB, Kısa S, Hisar F. Perception and opinions of staff working in a public hospital about patient safety. Gumushane University Journal of Health Sciences 2015; 4: 148-161.
29. Rizalar S, Buyuk ET, Sahin R, As T, Uzunkaya G. Culture of patient safety and affecting factors. Dokuz Eylul University Faculty of Nursing Electronic Journal 2016; 9: 9-15.
30. Harris CT, Peeples RA. Medical errors, medical malpractice and death cases in North Carolina: the ımpact of demographic and system variables. Contemporary Readings in Law & Social Justice 2015; 7: 46.
31. Hubbeling D. Medical error and moral luck. HEC Forum 2016; 28: 229-243.
32. Capucho HC, Arnas ER, Cassiani SHBD. Patient Safety: a comparison between handwritten and computerized voluntary incident reporting. Revista Gaúcha de Enfermagem 2013; 34: 164-172.
33. Ilan R, Squires M, Panopoulos C, Day A. Increasing patient safety event reporting in 2 intensive care units: a prospective interventional study. Journal of Critical Care 2011; 26: 431 e11-8.
34. Morello RT, Lowthian JA, Barker AL, McGinnes R, Dunt D, Brand C. Strategies for improving patient safety culture in hospitals: a systematic review. BMJ Quality & Safety2013; 22: 11-18.