The Patient Safety Management Activities of Hospital Nurses: An Importance and Performance Analysis

Abstract

BackgroundTo improve patient safety performance, medical personnel may utilize patient safety systems to perform patient safety nursing activities and suggest future directions for improvement. Patient safety nursing activities refer to systematic activities taken to prevent injuries or accidents during diagnosis, treatment, and other medical services.PurposeThis study was designed to analyze the importance placed by hospital nurses on patient safety management activities and their actual performance of these activities.MethodsAn importance and performance analysis of patient safety management activities was conducted on 163 nurses with over 1 year of experience working at one of three hospitals in South Korea. Data were collected using questionnaires prepared based on criteria related to nurse-implemented patient safety management activities (three areas, 15 categories, 104 questions).ResultsThe average score for the importance of the developed patient safety management activities was 3.65 (SD = 0.14), and the average performance score was 3.42 (SD = 0.211). Using distinct importance and performance analysis frames, items corresponding to the "concentrate here" area included "securing enough human resources," "provide training for employees," "efforts to prevent violence in institutions and establish a proper organizational culture," "a rapid response system to urgent patient conditions," "checking the correct patients," and "CPR team operating regulations."Conclusion/Implications for PracticeThe indicators for most patient safety management activities indicate their strong performance in South Korean nursing workplaces. To further improve the patient safety management practices of hospital nurses, nursing managers should create nursing work environments that promote safety activity performance efficacy.