Abstract

GQALENI, T M H  and  MKHIZE, S W. Healthcare professionals' perception of knowledge and implementation of Patient Safety Incident reporting and learning guidelines in specialised care units, KwaZulu-Natal. South. Afr. j. crit. care (Online) [online]. 2023, vol.39, n.1, pp.25-30. ISSN 2078-676X.  http://dx.doi.org/10.7196/SAJCC.2023.v39i1.559.

BACKGROUND: Despite the implementation of intervention strategies, incidents in specialised care units remain high and are of serious concern, worldwide OBJECTIVE: To assess the healthcare professionals' perception of knowledge and implementation of patient safety incident (PSI) reporting and learning guidelines in specialised care units of three selected public hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa METHODS: The study used a descriptive, cross-sectional survey design. A purposive sample targeted 237 healthcare professionals. An online structured questionnaire collected the data. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse data RESULTS: A total of 181 questionnaires were returned, yielding a response rate of 76%. Notably, 83% of respondents had high-perceived knowledge of the PSI reporting and learning guidelines, while 98% had low perceptions of their implementation. The current unit (p=0.002) and shift of the day (p=0.008) were factors associated with the perception of good knowledge of PSI reporting and learning guidelines, as indicated by a p-value <0.05. The respondents' age (p=0.05), current unit (p=0.015), and shift of the day (p=0.000) were significantly associated with the perception of poor implementation of the PSI reporting and learning guidelines CONCLUSION: The respondents demonstrated a good perception of knowledge of PSI reporting and learning guidelines; however, the perception of the implementation was poor. Therefore, a revised implementation strategy coupled with periodical in-service training for healthcare professionals is recommended, to foster and facilitate effective adherence to PSI reporting and learning guidelines

Keywords : Patient safety; incidents; guidelines; implementation; critical care; healthcare professionals.

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