Health teams’ views on the application of technologies to reduce nursing and health worker errors and improve patient safety

Abstract

Background: Patient safety is a critical aspect of healthcare, with nursing and health worker errors posing significant risks. Errors such as missed nursing care, documentation inaccuracies, medication mistakes, and equipment-related injuries can compromise patient outcomes. This study aims to explore the perceptions of healthcare teams regarding strategies to mitigate nursing and health worker errors and enhance patient safety.
Methods: A descriptive study was conducted over two months using a convenience sample of 200 healthcare team members. Data were collected via an Arabic questionnaire, developed and validated through expert reviews and pilot testing. The survey examined participants' perceptions of errors and their views on five key strategies comprising 28 targeted interventions to reduce nursing and health worker errors . Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS, with results evaluated at a significance level of p < 0.05.
Results: Participants reported frequent occurrences of missed nursing care and nosocomial infections, with 56% identifying these issues as persistent. Documentation errors and medication administration mistakes were noted by 46% of respondents. Interventions such as encouraging patient assistance requests (71.8%) and ensuring proper documentation (62.5%) were widely supported. High perceptions were noted for strategies addressing missed care (78%) and patient falls (71%), while perceptions were lower for documentation (37%) and equipment injury prevention (44%). Significant associations were found between age, occupation, training attendance, and total perceptions (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: The findings underscore the importance of targeted interventions, including improving communication, enhancing training, fostering a safety culture, and leveraging technology to reduce nursing and health worker errors . These strategies provide actionable insights for healthcare administrators and practitioners to prioritize patient safety and elevate care quality. Further research is recommended to validate these strategies across diverse settings.