A safe working environment for nurses is also a safe environment for the patients in their care, according to a new study.
Researchers led by Jennifer Taylor, PhD, MPH, an assistant professor in the School of Public Health at Drexel University in Philadelphia, found that a unit's safety climate was associated with both patient and nurse injuries, suggesting that patient and nurse safety may be linked outcomes.
For each 10-point increase in a unit's average safety climate score, the odds of decubitus ulcer declined by 44% to 48%, and the odds of nurse injury declined by 40% to 45%.
Patient and nurse injuries are both cause for increasing concern in the healthcare industry, according to the researchers — not only because of the pain and suffering experienced by those directly affected, but also because both types of injuries contribute to the rising cost of healthcare through the need for extended hospital stays for patients and the hiring of temporary staff to replace injured nurses. However, most research considers either patient safety or occupational safety in isolation.
"Our findings suggest that patient safety and occupational safety for nurses may be related by common causes, and should be considered together in future studies," Taylor said.
The study included data from a large urban hospital, including 28,876 patient discharges on 29 nursing units employing 723 RNs. For each nursing unit, researchers collected nurses' responses to a survey of safety attitudes (a measure of safety climate) as well as hospital-reported nurse and patient injury data from the following year. Patient injury data included commonly-preventable hospital injuries such as falls, pulmonary embolism/deep vein thrombosis and decubitus ulcers. Nurse injury data included needle-sticks, splashes, slips, trips and falls.
The findings also indicated that increased turnover of nurses should be considered a risk factor for nurse and patient injuries: With each 10% increase in a unit's nurse turnover rate, researchers observed a 68% increase in the odds of nurse injury, as well as increased patient risk for pulmonary embolism/deep vein thrombosis.
The researchers noted that a study of this type could not identify the specific causes of the associations found between reported injuries and factors of safety climate and nurse turnover. Future studies should track injuries and safety factors over time and in different types of hospital environments, they said.
Taylor said few studies have identified predictors of both nurse and patient injury in the hospital setting: "We need to look deeper into hospital organizations to understand the cause-and-effect relationship."
The study was published in October on the website of BMJ Quality and Safety. To view a summary and access the story via subscription or purchase, visit http://bit.ly/scZ7lb.
Researchers led by Jennifer Taylor, PhD, MPH, an assistant professor in the School of Public Health at Drexel University in Philadelphia, found that a unit's safety climate was associated with both patient and nurse injuries, suggesting that patient and nurse safety may be linked outcomes.
For each 10-point increase in a unit's average safety climate score, the odds of decubitus ulcer declined by 44% to 48%, and the odds of nurse injury declined by 40% to 45%.
Patient and nurse injuries are both cause for increasing concern in the healthcare industry, according to the researchers — not only because of the pain and suffering experienced by those directly affected, but also because both types of injuries contribute to the rising cost of healthcare through the need for extended hospital stays for patients and the hiring of temporary staff to replace injured nurses. However, most research considers either patient safety or occupational safety in isolation.
"Our findings suggest that patient safety and occupational safety for nurses may be related by common causes, and should be considered together in future studies," Taylor said.
The study included data from a large urban hospital, including 28,876 patient discharges on 29 nursing units employing 723 RNs. For each nursing unit, researchers collected nurses' responses to a survey of safety attitudes (a measure of safety climate) as well as hospital-reported nurse and patient injury data from the following year. Patient injury data included commonly-preventable hospital injuries such as falls, pulmonary embolism/deep vein thrombosis and decubitus ulcers. Nurse injury data included needle-sticks, splashes, slips, trips and falls.
The findings also indicated that increased turnover of nurses should be considered a risk factor for nurse and patient injuries: With each 10% increase in a unit's nurse turnover rate, researchers observed a 68% increase in the odds of nurse injury, as well as increased patient risk for pulmonary embolism/deep vein thrombosis.
The researchers noted that a study of this type could not identify the specific causes of the associations found between reported injuries and factors of safety climate and nurse turnover. Future studies should track injuries and safety factors over time and in different types of hospital environments, they said.
Taylor said few studies have identified predictors of both nurse and patient injury in the hospital setting: "We need to look deeper into hospital organizations to understand the cause-and-effect relationship."
The study was published in October on the website of BMJ Quality and Safety. To view a summary and access the story via subscription or purchase, visit http://bit.ly/scZ7lb.
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