| Primary Author: | Lisa S. Jasper, RN, MSN, FNP-BC |
| Organization | Georgia Baptist College of Nursing of Mercer University |
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this project was to characterize patients’ knowledge and attitudes regarding their participation in safety-related behaviors while hospitalized on a medical-surgical unit.
Background
Encouraging patients to play a more active role in their health care may improve quality, efficiency, and health outcomes. There is a paucity of empirical data on patients’ knowledge of safety behaviors while hospitalized and patients’ attitudes toward becoming actively involved in their care. One approach to patient safety focuses on the education of patients regarding safety initiatives. The administration of a regional acute care facility identified the need to develop a safety pamphlet to facilitate hospitalized patients’ knowledge, participation, and feedback on issues affecting patient safety. Data about patients’ knowledge and attitudes were required to inform pamphlet development.
Materials & Methods
This QI project involved data collection with a 18 item, Likert scaled, investigator-developed instrument (Patient Safety Perspective Survey). Items from the instrument were adapted from information contained in the resource Safety Attitudes: Frontline Perspectives from this Patient Care Area survey. Data were collected from 50 patients over the age of 21, from a 37-bed medical–surgical unit of a large medical center within the Southeastern United States.
Results
On average, knowledge of safety behaviors was high, M= 22.6, (range 6-30, SD 6.2) and attitudes about safety were positive, M= 51.9, (range 12-60, SD 6.8). Individual item analysis indicated patients reported lowest knowledge/attitudes in the areas of reducing medication errors and preventing infection.
Conclusion
Areas with lowest patient safety knowledge/attitudes were those in which may be considered by patients to be solely in the control of care providers. Data support the need for a patient safety pamphlet, particularly the areas of what patients can do to reduce medication errors and prevent infection.
Bibliography
Coulter, A., & Ellins, J. (2007). Effectiveness of strategies for informing, educating, and involving patients. BMJ Quality Safety, 335, 24-27.
Sexton JB, Helmreich RL, Neilands TB, Rowan K, Vella K, Boyden J, Roberts PR, Thomas EJ. The Safety Attitudes Questionnaire: Psychometric Properties, Benchmarking Data, and Emerging Research. BMC Health Services Research 2006; 6:44.
© Improvement Science Research Network, 2012
The ISRN published this as received and with permission from the author(s).