Factors related to hesitancy and reluctancy to point out errors in nurses with clinical experience of 3 years and more

Abstract

This study aimed to clarify factors related to hesitancy and reluctancy to point out errors in nurses with clinical experience of 3 years and more and to obtain suggestions for medical safety measures in hospitals.
Participants were 1,266 nurses (effective response rate 61.3%) with clinical experience of 3 years and more who worked in hospitals with 200 beds or more in A Prefecture, Japan. An anonymous self-administered questionnaire survey was carried out on attributes, work conditions, failure trends, experiences of errors, stress reactions, safety climate of medical institutions, and hesitance/reluctance to point out errors. A scene was set where pointing out errors would make one feel offended as the communication scene. Using the scores of hesitance/reluctance to point out errors in this scene as a dependent variable, the multiple linear regression analysis (stepwise method) was performed.
As the results, three factors, “narrowing of cognition,” “forgetting /neglecting to use the bed stoppers,” and “an atmosphere that an error is permitted unless it is known to others” were positively related to the scores of hesitance/reluctance to point out errors. Three factors, “an atmosphere that a difficult and complex argument about medical safety is discussed thoroughly,” “Higher-level position”, “Fun to talk with people” were negatively associated with the scores.
These results suggest that in order to reduce the hesitancy/reluctancy for pointing out errors in nurses, assistances would be necessary to foster a climate that actively tackles accident prevention and to make use of error experiences and to enhance positive reaction.