Analysis of Risk Factors for Patient Safety Management

환자안전 관리를 위한 위험요인 분석

Purpose: This is a pilot study to identify patient safety risk factors and strategies for patient safety management perceived by nurses. Methods: Data were collected and analyzed with an open questionnaire from April to May 2005, targeted on 100 nurses working in two hospitals. The issues were 'what are risk factors for patients, nurses, and other medical practitioners? How do they prevent with the aftermath of risk factors, causes of incidents?' For data analysis, types and frequency of risk factors were worked out, using the Australian Incident Monitoring System Taxonomy. Results: The types of patient safety risk factor perceived by nurses were as follows ; therapeutic devices or equipment, infrastructure and services (29.5%), nosocomial infections (16.3%), clinical processes or procedures (15.4%), behavior, human performance, violence, aggression, security and safety (12.2%), therapeutic agents (9.7%), injuries and pressure ulcers (8.7%), logistics, organization, documentation, and infrastructure technology (5.6%). Strategies for patient safety included training of prevention of infection, education about safety management for patients and medical professionals, establishment of reporting system, culture of care, pre-elimination of risk factors, cooperative system among employees, and sharing information. Conclusion: These results will be used to provide evidences for patient safety management and educational program.